The Consequences of Uchiha
by DecidedlyPositive
Summary: Sequel to "The Consequences of Snooping". Sakura knew she had fallen from the pan and into the fire this time. She had finally finished her ill-fated date with Itachi, but now she had a three-week long mission to Suna with him. Was there no escaping him?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. **

**NOTE: Hello to all old readers! And welcome to any new ones! This is a sequel to my short little story called The Consequences of Snooping. I wasn't really sure if I was going to continue on with it, but I got so many wonderful requests for a sequel that I just couldn't disappoint people (I'm horrible, I'm skimming off my homework to get this out XD)! If you're new to my stories, I really advise you to read the first one so that everything here makes sense ^_^ I am going to try very, very, very, hard to update this at least once a week, so stay tuned. If I'm not able to, I'll probably update my profile to explain when the next chapter will be posted, so check back. Now, onto the story!**

* * *

_Tsunade's honey brown eyes solemnly swept over the current occupants of her office. Inuzuka Hana, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi, and Haruno Sakura. The former three were one of Konoha's most talented ANBU teams, a carefully compiled group of uniquely skilled shinobi. The last one standing in the room, for some reason looking overtly disgruntled and unhappy, was none other than her prized apprentice. _

_Tsunade leaned forward onto her desk, locking her fingers together and resting her chin on them. She resisted the urge to yawn, for it was seven thirty in the morning—a time that was too damn early for work in her opinion. Alas, Shizune never let her sleep in, always making her get up at the crack of dawn each day. Unfortunately, her older apprentice's strictness and rules had rubbed off on her younger, pink-haired apprentice, who never failed to make an effort to correct her master's laziness and utter lack of drive for working. But she digressed. Turning her attention back towards the other shinobi, Tsunade said in her official, Hokage voice, "The mission you are about to embark on is more in the category of being diplomatic, rather than one in which there is a goal to be accomplished. Hopefully this will result in closer relations between Suna and Konoha, which as you probably are already aware, have been rather shaky ever since the chunin exam incident four years ago."_

_Comprehending nods or understanding expressions accompanied the Hokage's words. After all, even though Gaara was largely sympathetic towards Konoha, mainly due to Naruto's positive influence, there was still no denying that many of Suna's council members blamed the death of their former Kazekage and numerous shinobi on Konoha, even though Sound was the real culprit of the disaster. However, Tsunade and Gaara had been working hard towards improving their alliance. Sending Sakura over to help educate the medics further and having Suna participate in the jounin exams this year were just a few of those steps. _

"_Sakura." The young kunoichi's head snapped up at being directly addressed by her master. _

"_Yes, Tsunade-shishou?" _

_Tsuande's gaze lay heavily on her apprentice, trust and reliance written on every inch of her young-looking face. "A large factor of this mission is lying on your shoulders. Though it is rather needless for me to remind you, I do expect you to diligently and respectfully perform your duties in Suna to the utmost of your ability."_

_Sakura swallowed softly, inclining her head in acknowledgment of the weight of her assignment. She tried to banish the nervousness and unsure thoughts lurking in the dark corners of her mind. She focused on Tsunade as she began to speak once more._

"_Uchiha Itachi, you are to be the team leader on this assignment. You and Uchiha Shisui and Inuzuka will protect Sakura for the extent of this mission," Tsunade broke off for a moment upon hearing Sakura's little sound of indignation that she made, highly amused by her apprentice's grumpiness at her abilities being taken lightly. _

_Hana's rough voice rang out in the room. "Protect, Hokage-sama? Aren't we supposed to be allies with Suna? Just who d'ya think is going to bother attacking the little pinkette here?" Shisui seemed to hold the same question, his dark, trade-mark Uchiha eyes inquiring._

_Itachi was the one who answered Hana, his smooth voice saying, "It is naïve to believe that there will not be Suna shinobi or citizens in the city who are still upset at Suna's alliance with Konoha, or at the presence of Leaf shinobi in their village. Though I have the utmost faith in Sakura's capability to protect herself," Itachi's eyes lazily found Sakura's form which was carefully situated at the other end of the room, causing her to shift in discomfort, "It will be difficult for her to focus on her medical lessons and constantly watch her back simultaneously."_

_Both Hana and Shisui blinked in astonishment at their friend and team leader's words. It wasn't so much surprise at the fact that they were potentially going to be facing attack from Suna shinobi, but more due to Itachi's blatant compliment to the young chunin. After all, Itachi wasn't one to freely give such praise, and they had known him for many years. Itachi's cousin and the brown-haired Inuzaka's heads swiveled around to curiously look at Sakura, who tried to avoid their gazes while attempting to glare at the Uchiha. _

_Tsunade, who had also noted Itachi's statement with mild surprise, swiftly recovered. "Uchiha is correct in what he says. You will all keep an eye on Sakura, and make yourself useful to the Kazekage when possible. You will be escorting the Kazekage and his aids when he returns with you to Konoha for the jounin exams."_

_Shisui's slightly cocky, assured voice asked, "So, how long are we going to be in Suna?" Hana reached over to her teammate and smacked him over his dark head for his impolite tone, making Sakura smile at their antics and Itachi steadfastly ignore them._

_Tsunade replied to them with a shrug, "No more than three weeks, I'm hoping. You will be expected back in time for the exam." The blonde hokage surveyed them all briefly, before carelessly waving her hand in a gesture of dismissal. "That is all. Good luck."_

* * *

A tree shook as Sakura's small foot connected with its gnarled branch, kicking off of it as she participated in leaping through the forest at a rapid pace with the rest of her assigned team. With each movement, Sakura focused on concentrating increasing amounts of chakra to her feet and legs in order to try and keep up with the others. She looked to her left and right, seeing the short, slim shape of Hana and Shisui's lithe form through the dense trees. Alongside Hana, she could just barely see the outline of Hachiko, Hana's dark-furred canine companion that was a signature of the Inuzuka clan.

In front of Sakura, to her great displeasure, was Itachi. His long, black hair was flying behind him as he continuously jumped from tree to tree with a catlike grace. He had said little on the mission so far, only adding a few more details before they had set off. To Sakura's happiness, he had barely spoken to her, and when he had it was purely professional. She could only hope that he wouldn't try anything with her on the mission.

She had been wholly unsure of how to act around the enigmatic Uchiha ever since their date two nights before, though admittedly she hadn't seen much of him since then, a fact which only pleased Naruto and Sasuke, who still hadn't forgiven her for her 'kiss' with the elder Uchiha. They had just about had a coronary when she had bid them goodbye, telling them she was leaving with Itachi and his team for Suna. Their dire warnings to "stay the hell away from the spawn of evil and preserve her purity" still echoed in her ears. She sighed, desperately hoping they would have stopped sulking by the time she arrived back in Konoha. She didn't want to have to deal with her boys' grumpy attitudes when she returned from what was promising to be a rather exhausting mission. To be honest, her feelings for the Uchiha were extremely muddled at this point in time.

Other than Itachi's presence, she was altogether satisfied with her two other teammates. Hana-san wasn't too different from her younger brother, Kiba, and had a remarkably gruff but easy-to-get-along-with personality. Sakura had really only met her a few times previously due to her friendship with Kiba, but other than that hadn't known her at all. Shisui, on the other hand, Sakura had met various times before, and had always liked him immensely. One of the reasons for that was his completely easygoing and teasing personality, which made it easy for Sakura to forget that he was even an Uchiha at times. Really, just how did the stoic and cold Uchiha clan produce a cheerful guy like Shisui? In looks he was an Uchiha, but his personality was more similar to Naruto's, in her opinion. _He must have been the result of mutated genes,_ she finally decided.

Sakura valiantly fought against drooping eyelids as they continued on, though it was understandable that her body was already giving out. The world had entered into night about three hours ago, and the team had set off from Konoha's gates before sunrise that very morning. Itachi had kept them going at a hard, fast pace for nearly seventeen hours, with few breaks along the way. Even though Sakura was quickly tiring, she refused to be the first to complain or request they stop for the night. She felt an inexplicable need to keep a strong face around Itachi, not wanting him to see her weak or exhausted.

After several more minutes of silent travel, Sakura nearly cried out in relief when Itachi came to an abrupt halt, his black-clothed form stilling on the outstretched branch of a giant oak tree. In the darkness, Sakura felt, rather than saw, Shisui and Hana's bodies come to a stop somewhere near her.

"We will stop here for the night," Itachi said quietly, turning around to face his team. "Shisui, help me secure the perimeter."

Shisui's laugh echoed through the dark area, and he easily commented to his younger cousin and best friend, "Thought we'd never get a break, Itachi. It's not a criminal act to stop a little earlier, you know? Poor Sakura-chan looks dead on her feet."

Sakura glared at Shisui the best she could in the dark, stung at the implication of his tone. His words did hold some truth in them though, as she wasn't used to the rapidly paced travel that ANBU teams frequently were subjected to. She was sure that for Hana and Shisui, this was completely normal. After all, they had been on Itachi's ANBU team for quite a while. She lightly spoke, telling Shisui, "Don't worry, I'm not tired enough that I don't have the energy to introduce your face to a tree, Shisui-san."

Hana grinned appreciatively, telling the pink-haired girl, "At least wait until the morning to do that, Haruno, I want to be able to see it. Besides, I'm pretty damn exhausted as well, Itachi's a sadist when it comes to traveling."

They heard a mock sigh from Shisui. "Ahh, whatever happened to nice, sweet girls who never endorsed violence?"

"They became kunoichi with ass-kicking abilities far beyond yours," was Hana's smug retort.

"Enough," Itachi ordered in low tones. He launched off of the branch he was standing on, leaving to observe the area. Shisui immediately went out after him.

"Yo, Itachi! Wait, dammit!"

After the forms of the two men had long disappeared from their line of vision, Sakura and Hana silently jumped from the high forest level they were on at that moment and onto the solidly packed ground, landing with two soft thumps. Hana's dog, Hachiko, agilely leapt onto the forest floor as well, skillfully landing on her feet. The two kunoichi busied themselves with removing their packs, and then proceeding onto stretching out their weary limbs in unison and trying to rub the drowsiness from their faces. Sakura looked over at the older girl beside her.

"Feel like eating anything, Hana-san?" She asked her.

Hana shook her head vigorously, "Nah. I'm more tired." The brunette looked up at the night sky speculatively. "We should take as much time to rest up as possible. Itachi's probably going to push us to reach Suna by tomorrow afternoon." She muttered something under her breath that distinctly sounded like "hard-ass captain".

Sakura smiled at Hana's grumpiness at Itachi, wondering for the umpteenth time how Itachi's ANBU team functioned so well with such conflicting personalities. _Well,_ she reasoned to herself, _I haven't actually seen them in combat mode yet. This isn't really an official ANBU mission, so they're probably taking it easier. _

Withdrawing from her thoughts, she told her companion with a slight disapproving tone, "You really should eat something Hana-san. It's not healthy to deny your body energy sources like carbohydrates and sugars that it'll need for traveling tomorrow." After the words came out of her mouth, Sakura realized with embarrassment that she had been scolding a senpai. Not only that, but a senpai that was also a veterinarian for nin-animals, and who was already well-versed in how to care for the body. She felt like smacking her head against a tree.

To Sakura's relief, however, Hana was smirking at her, seemingly amused. Hachiko, seeing her master's good humor, let out a content whine. "You sure have that doctor routine down, Haruno."

Sakura shrugged, saying, "I try."

"And apparently, you're quite good at fighting, or at least Itachi thinks so." Hana's acute senses all homed in on the younger girl's face as she flinched almost imperceptibly. Unfortunately for Sakura, Hana's curiosity had been awakened in the Hokage's office upon hearing her captain and longtime teammate compliment Sakura. Having known Itachi since childhood, and personally witnessing up front the many girls he had ignored or turned down, it was, to say the _very _least, interesting to actually see him take note of a girl.

And here they had all thought he was asexual. A trademark wolfish grin spread across the brunette's face at the prospect of an interrogation.

Sakura, sensing what Hana's intention was, uneasily began unrolling her traveling bedding from her pack, laying it neatly on the hard dirt. Damn Itachi for saying something like that. Knowing him, he probably did it on purpose. That jerk always seemed to plan these things out.

Sakura slipped under the single blanket she had brought, for the nights were still warm nowadays, and curled up in a small ball. Maybe if she went to sleep, she could avoid being thoroughly questioned by the inquisitive woman next to her. She would forgo food so that she could keep herself from being involved in a long and annoying talk about things she would rather ignore.

To Sakura's great unhappiness, she saw Hana unrolling her bedding a few feet from where Sakura had done so. Hana and Hachiko settled themselves down and turned their bodies so that they faced her.

Oddly resembling a gossipy girl, Hana drawled out, "So, Haruno…what's your relationship with our beloved and lovable (It was here that Sakura snorted) captain?"

Sakura twitched.

Hana didn't even know her that well, and she was trying to pry into her life like this? So what if Itachi was paying attention to her? Just why did everyone think that was so important? Hell, he hadn't even said that he'd liked her. Though, if Sakura was being honest, Itachi _had _kissed her, albeit on the cheek. That must have been an indication of _something._

Sakura burrowed her face into her blanket, finding herself longing for the time when Itachi had seen her as Sasuke's teammate, and nothing more. Everything had been so much less complicated then. No murderous teammates out for her blood, no Inuzuka questioning her without stopping, and no loss of sanity. Then again, maybe he had gotten all of his interest for her out of his system with that one date. Maybe. Hopefully.

Sakura let out a short breath, turning her head irritably towards Hana and abruptly sitting up in her bedroll. Now that she was thoroughly aggravated, she found that she wasn't as sleepy.

"Hana-san, it may be hard to believe, but there's _nothing_. No relationship. Not anything. I barely even _know_ Itachi."

"Oh?" There was heavy disbelief in Hana's voice.

Didn't this girl ever give up? Sakura could clearly see why Hana was renowned as an excellent tracker. Once she caught onto a scent, she held onto it like a bulldog.

Sakura locked eyes with Hana, defiance and challenge shining from them. "Why is this so important to you? If you like the Uchiha and feel threatened by me, by all means, you can take him. I really couldn't care less," Sakura said to her.

Hana lay there for a moment, looking stunned and incredulous, before her brown eyes widened in laughter and she grinned with satisfaction.

Sakura blinked. She had half expected the Inuzuka to sic Hachiko on her for her words. So why did Hana look like she had passed a test?

"You'll do, Haruno. I'm glad Itachi had the sense to pick someone like you, instead of one of those airheaded Uchiha cousins of his that're always hanging around. At least you've got some backbone," Hana said approvingly.

_Wait. What?_ Sakura thought in a panic.

Hana continued on, blithely ignoring the shell-shocked girl near her. "If you plan to be with Itachi, I feel I have to warn you, you're going to have to accept idiot Shisui and me also. We're a team, y'know?"

It finally dawned on Sakura. Of course Hana would be interested in Itachi's life. From Sakura's understanding, she had been a genin with him, and with such a bond would have inevitably become friends. A team always looked out for their teammates—it was no different than the protectiveness she, Naruto, and Sasuke held for one another. She softened slightly towards Hana's nosiness, knowing that it was done out of friendship.

Still, she couldn't help but think that Hana was getting the wrong idea here.

Sakura hurried to say, "Er, wait Hana-san! There's no me and Itachi, really, there's nothing between us!"

Hana only smirked in a condescending way and rolled over in her bedroll. Sakura scowled furiously and leapt up, intending to go over and make the other girl understand that she wasn't interested in her captain like that! She was already stomping over to Hana and was halfway there when she was suddenly startled by the return of Itachi and Shisui.

The two men looked at the situation curiously, as there was a wickedly grinning Hana lying in her bedroll and a murderous looking Sakura surrounded by a killing aura.

Shisui was quick to deflate the angry tension in the air. He playfully flickered over to Sakura (in Sakura's opinion, greatly abusing his Body Flicker technique) and lazily wrapped an arm around her, making her look up at the tall Uchiha in surprise, and causing Itachi's body to stiffen and his eyes to narrow slightly.

"Sakura-chan, you don't have to fight over me with dog-girl over there. I have no qualms about sharing my bedroll with you," Shisui said with a grin, his voice carrying hints of laughter in it.

A muttered "go drown yourself Uchiha no baka" came from Hana.

Sakura calmly reached out her hand towards her shoulder, where Shisui's arm currently was. She sent a wave of chakra through the nerves in his arm, effectively giving him a shock and making his arm go numb.

The result was that Shisui jumped back, swearing. He rubbed his arm rapidly, trying to get the feeling back into it. He then glanced over at Itachi, who was watching impassively.

"I think she just attacked me, Itachi," he said good-naturedly, smiling ruefully.

"It was not undeserved."

"Some cousin you are! If I was as beautiful as Sakura, you'd probably be taking my side instead!"

"I doubt that."

Sakura rolled her green eyes, and commented, "Shisui-san, the numb feeling will wear off in a few minutes. I hope the next time you go to make a move on a nurse or med-nin you remember what they can do to you."

Shisui paled at the thought of how many times he had flirted with a medic, now knowing that he probably could have been missing some very essential parts had he displeased them or crossed the line in his flirtations.

Itachi once again resumed command of the situation, bringing their little lapse in professionalism to an end. "We will resume travel tomorrow at sunrise. I will take the first watch, followed by Shisui and then Hana."

Sakura was well aware that there was one vital person he had left out of the watch schedule. She balled her hands into fists, and willed herself to address him calmly.

"I believe there is one person you forgot about, Captain," she said as respectfully as she could manage at the moment.

There was a long moment of conspicuous silence.

Sensing that there was about to be a rather large argument, Hana allowed her eyes to slip shut, feigning sleep. Shisui bid them a cheerful goodnight and quickly strolled off to get his supplies, preferring to let Sakura duke it out with Itachi on her own. He didn't particularly want to be in the line of fire once it started.

Sakura shivered slightly but stood her ground when Itachi's dark eyes pierced hers.

"I don't believe I did, Sakura."

She clenched her teeth, then said tightly, "I may be younger and not as experienced, but I'm just as capable as Shisui-san and Hana-san to take watch, _Captain_." There it was again, that horrible feeling. Sakura tried her best to push it down and ignore it, but it was one so reminiscent of the way she had always felt when she had been younger. That awful experience of being forced to let everyone else take care of her, of having to sit around and do nothing while watching their backs. She hadn't worked so hard to reach the level she was at just so an Uchiha could treat her like a child.

For some reason, it was ten times worse that it was Itachi who was underestimating her.

She swallowed hard, her anger simmering and traveling closer and closer to the surface. She was tired, and she really shouldn't be questioning her captain's orders, but everything that had been going on lately combined with the stress of what she would be doing in Suna was beginning to get to her. And Itachi's behavior wasn't helping the situation at all.

She continued on, her eyes shining with frustration, "Please don't feel the need to coddle me, I am perfectly able to—ah!"

A gasp escaped Sakura as Itachi, faster than her eyes could follow, moved beside her and took hold of her arm. Before she knew it, Itachi was practically dragging her from the clearing and deeper into the woods, away from were Hana and Shisui were. After a few feet, he had hauled her against him in a secure hold and increased his speed.

The damn man was moving so fast that her head was spinning, and she could barely struggle against the firm grip he had on her. The trees were going by at an alarming rate, and the wind was whistling noisily in Sakura's ears as it blew her pink locks every which way.

It was a relief when Itachi stopped, and Sakura found her back pressed against a tree, prevented from leaving by the presence of Itachi standing in front of her, quietly looking down at her. She thought she saw something akin to concern on his face, but put it out of her mind.

Sakura knew she must be wearing a deer-in-the-headlights expression, so great was her surprise, but she managed to turn an angry gaze on Itachi.

"Just what the hell was that for, Uchiha? If you had something you needed to tell me, you could have said it in front of Hana and Shisui!"

Itachi moved closer to her, his gaze unwavering on her face. He was wearing the look that made her think he could read every thought traveling through her head at the moment. His body was only a hair's breadth from hers, and she pressed herself further against the tree to try and put some more distance between them.

"Sakura. What is worrying you?" Itachi questioned her quietly and intently.

She was slightly startled when she heard his voice, but quickly got defensive at his words. Why did he _always _know how she was feeling or what she was thinking? It was uncanny, and somewhat disturbing. Stupid open, honest face of hers.

She sighed, tilting her head away. "Nothing. I'm…just tired."

Itachi didn't look like he believed her, and he lifted his pale, elegant hand to her chin, firmly turning her face towards him. Sakura glared, opening her mouth to protest as she couldn't exactly move her body without touching him. Which was something she really, really, wanted to avoid right now. Her protestations were unfortunately interrupted by Itachi.

"I was not underestimating you. You have already surpassed my expectations by keeping up with the travel pace of ANBU teams."

She blinked in confusion, before she understood. She raised her eyes to see if he was mocking her, but saw nothing but seriousness in his face.

"You are a vital part of this mission, and in furthering relations between Suna and Konoha. It would not be…wise to have you collapse when we reach Suna tomorrow, and you begin your medical lectures. Therefore, I thought it best for you to receive the most amount of rest possible tonight, without the added stress of taking watch."

Sakura hated to admit it, but Itachi's words did make some sense. They even soothed her previously wounded pride. She frowned, but reluctantly agreed, "I…suppose you're right."

Itachi looked amused. "You only 'suppose'?"

Sakura ignored him, saying hotly, "But, all the same, you didn't have to drag me out here like a misbehaving child just to tell me that."

Itachi smirked, his shadowy gaze traveling over the contours of her face and resting on her slightly turned-down lips. His cool hand was still holding her chin gently. "You are no child to me, Sa-ku-ra," Itachi told her in extremely quiet tones.

Shoot. Sakura froze at seeing the look in his eyes, her breathing becoming almost nonexistent.

She had definitely entered hazardous waters. Dammit, what had she said to make him go from explaining about why she couldn't take watch duty to…to…looking like he wanted to eat her? Where the hell were Naruto and Sasuke when you actually needed them? And what was going on now, when he was supposed to have gotten all of his interest in her out of him after that date?

Sakura let out a tiny squeak, then cursed herself for allowing the stupid, feminine sound to escape her. Nervously, she placed her hands lightly against Itachi's chest to stop him from coming closer. Then she abruptly thought better of it and quickly snatched them back. The number one rule for situations like this was not to add fuel to the already burning fire.

Sakura was feeling too crowded, too closed in without proper space in which to breathe. And it wasn't particularly helping that Itachi's moonlit form was the only thing her eyes could take in right then, making him look almost ethereal. Yes, escape was good, before she did something really stupid. Like letting her teenage hormones possibly get the better of her, for right now they were on the verge of addling her already Uchiha-fried brain.

She looked up at him, focusing her wide-eyed gaze on him, and hesitantly saying, "Itachi?"

"Mm?"

She swallowed softly. Funny, it seemed like her throat wasn't working. "What…what are you doing?"

That seemed to snap him out of whatever weird mindset he had been in. His obsidian eyes solemnly observed her rather nervous visage, and he let his hand slip softly from her face. A corner of his mouth tilted fractionally, and he stepped back with an unreadable look.

"Nothing. Go get some sleep, Sakura."

Sakura hesitated for a moment, looking for something to say to him, but desired nothing more than to get out of this strange atmosphere that had been woven around her and Itachi. She nodded once, and then turned around and walked away from Itachi as quickly as possible, heading towards the clearing where their two teammates must have been waiting for them.

Itachi merely stood where she had left him, and Sakura could feel his heavy gaze burning into her back as she fled from him.

* * *

**I appreciate constructive criticism, helpful tips, or just plain, old happy comments so please leave a review! I'm sorry that I'm not able to get on the computer enough to reply to each review, but having your support is the best feeling in the world!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, none of the characters are mine, the story is not mine, the manga is not mine, the anime is not mine, the places are not mine, Itachi is definitely not mine…eh, you get the picture.**

* * *

Hot. Sandy.

Those were the only two words that Sakura could use to describe the vast expanse of desert that was known as Suna. There was little to no plant life outside the walls of the village, with the exception of the occasional cactus or weed. Unlike the green forests of Konoha, Sakura could see no sign of animals anywhere. She supposed they were all hiding from the blazingly warm sunlight that was currently bearing down on her and her team.

Though not much was known about Suna's history, Sakura, along with the other genin of the Academy in Konoha, had been taught bits and pieces of it when they were studying the founding of the shinobi way of life and the creation of the hidden villages. Apparently, the First Kazekage had chosen to build the city of Suna in the middle of a desert due to the military advantages of it. It was obvious that he had believed that if Suna should ever be invaded by enemy-nin, they would perish from the heat of the sun and a complete lack of water and vegetation. Not to mention the deadly sandstorms that regularly occurred in the area.

Now that Sakura was actually in the country, she could fully admit that the First Kazekage had been right in his reasoning. No enemy in their right mind would want to spend weeks out in _this _type of environment laying siege to the hidden village. If they could even find the damn city in the cursed wind and swirling sand. Sakura was indescribably grateful that the First Hokage of Konoha had shown more sense and mercy towards his villagers by founding the city in the midst of a land filled with forests.

There was a fierce, burning wind constantly blowing, unpleasantly hitting Sakura's bare skin on her face, arms, and legs. At this rate, she thought miserably, it was going to rub the surface of her skin raw. She grimaced, wishing she had thought ahead enough to wear a longer, more covering outfit rather than her usual skirt, shorts, and vest attire.

And there was also the problem of dehydration. Itachi, now forever emblazoned in Sakura's mind as the slave-driving captain, had pressed the team to continue with few breaks because he wanted to make it to Suna before noon, as the sun and heat would be almost unbearable by that time.

Or so he said. Personally, Sakura just thought he took some sort of sadistic and unholy enjoyment in seeing them suffer. Che. Demon bastard.

At the thought of Sasuke's nickname for Itachi, Sakura felt an odd pang. It wasn't often that she went off on a mission without Naruto and Sasuke, so it was understandable that she felt as though she had misplaced something. She internally sighed, bemused at how much those two were a part of her daily life. She could even imagine what they would be saying right about now. Without a doubt, Naruto would be relentlessly complaining about the heat, and would make some harebrained comment about how much sand there was. And then Sasuke would smack him over the head, causing a fight to break out between them, which would result in Sakura sending them flying with her fists.

She smiled to herself. However weird it felt not having them with her, things were certainly more peaceful without them here, at any rate. And it wasn't like their spirit wasn't here. She _did _have one brooding Uchiha and a loudmouth Uchiha as her teammates, after all.

Sakura heard a small grunt of annoyance from next her, as well as a low voice cursing the heat with a colorful vocabulary. Her only reassurance was that Hana, who was swiftly running on the sand beside her, seemed to be in as much discomfort as she was at the moment. She was no better dressed than Sakura, as she was garbed in a shirt with no sleeves, and pants cut off below the knees.

"This place pretty much sucks already, ne Haruno?"

Sakura turned her head over to look at Hana, who was wearing a wolfy grin reminiscent of the one Kiba usually had on. Though she was still slightly sore over the older girl's nosiness the previous night, in the face of their combined misery she was feeling more forgiving.

She nodded in agreement. "I've never been here before, but I didn't think it would be this bad. Guess I'm just used to Konoha's temperate weather." She wiped off the pink hair that was wetly sticking to the back of her neck, and looked down in pity at the slightly panting dog beside them. "Poor Hachiko doesn't look like she's too happy here either."

"She'll be fine, she's a tough girl," Hana replied confidently, casting a brief look of pride on her dog companion. Hachiko let out a happy bark at her master's praise. "It's not too long until we get to Suna anyways. Another mile or two, I think."

Sakura exhaled in relief at her words. "That's good. I'm really—"

"Excited to be on a mission with me? Sakura-chan, I'm flattered," Shisui interrupted cheerfully, suddenly making an appearance beside the two girls. His black bangs were flopping boyishly in his laughing dark eyes as he grinned at her.

Sakura rolled her eyes as they continued running on. "That wasn't what I was going to say, Shisui-san."

"Damn. I usually know exactly what goes on in a girl's head."

Hana snorted at that. "Since when? You're always incredibly off when you try to guess what I'm thinking."

"That's because I'm not sure you count as female, Hana," Shisui replied blithely.

"Why you—!"

Sakura quickly intervened in order to stop any bloodshed from occurring. Hana appeared to be on the verge of throwing a kunai at her annoying Uchiha teammate, who was laughing teasingly at her anger. From the way Itachi was unconcernedly continuing in leading the group, it looked like Hana and Shisui's squabbles were a normal occurrence. "Why are you here bothering us anyways, Shisui-san? Go back to running with Itachi."

Shisui looked dramatically wounded, placing a hand over his heart. "Itachi's the most boring person to go on missions with. Whenever I try to talk with him he ignores me! I much prefer traveling beside two particularly beautiful girls."

"Flatterer," Sakura muttered, eyeing Shisui with amusement. She skirted around a rock that appeared in her path, neatly avoiding tripping over it.

Shisui shrugged, spreading his hands in a 'what can I do' gesture. "I try, Sakura-chan."

At his statement, Hana smirked in triumph. "Beautiful, huh? Shisui no baka, you actually complimented me? I'm speechless."

"I was referring to Sakura and Hachiko, actually."

"Bastard!"

Sakura dodged as Hana leapt at Shisui, who in turn sprinted away with his impossible speed. Hana let out a animalistic growl and immediately gave chase. Seeing as Shisui was renowned for his Body Flicker Technique, Sakura didn't think Hana would be catching him anytime soon. She did pity Shisui when Hana finally did exact her revenge on him, though. Hana seemed like she could be pretty ruthless when she wanted to be.

It appeared that whenever those two got into a conversation, it never lasted for more than a minute before one of them got angry. She shook her head with a short laugh—their behavior really resembled that of Sasuke-kun and Naruto.

She let out a soft breath of air, finding herself feeling a little alone without the presence of Hana and Shisui. They still had a little ways to go, and it looked like she would be spending the rest of the trip to Suna in silence unless…

Her green eyes focused on Itachi, who was effortlessly keeping a fast-paced sprint across the grains of sand. Sakura increased her speed, sending more chakra to the soles of her feet until she caught up to Itachi, all the while berating herself for actually willingly going near him.

She must have been really tired. Either that or the endless amounts of sand everywhere was finally getting to her.

She gradually slowed down as she reached his side, keeping her gaze focused on the distance in order to avoid looking at him. She was quiet as he curiously glanced down upon sensing her beside him.

"Did you need something, Sakura?" Dammit. How did he _not_ sound exhausted or irritated? That robotic perfection of his could get extremely tiring sometimes. Hmm, maybe that was why he didn't need water breaks in the desert? All that he required to stay hydrated was oil.

Sakura mentally hit herself for letting her sixteen-year old imagination get away from her again. She knew she was in trouble when her mind started spouting off facts to support Naruto's crazy theories about Itachi.

Realizing she hadn't answered him, she frantically searched for something to say. Her eyes fell on Hana and Shisui, who were still far ahead of them, bickering. "So, who usually wins?"

Itachi smirked. "Hana."

Sakura looked surprised at Itachi's rather flippant attitude about the whole thing. From his usual stoic demeanor, she would have expected that he would have been…stricter about how his teammates conducted themselves. She had noticed last night as well, that Itachi was very tolerant about their free-spirited behavior.

Itachi observed the puzzled look on Sakura face, and continued on with a slight smile, "As long as Hana and Shisui perform flawlessly on the actual mission, I…indulge them by allowing them to do what they wish otherwise. After all, it is merely their way of relieving the stress of missions." It was here that his tone became slightly darker, almost cynical. "Too much pressure on a shinobi can provoke dangerous results."

Sakura nodded slowly, approving Itachi's outlook on how he led his team. In a way, it resembled how Kakashi-sensei had always treated Team Seven, as he had always been very lenient with their silly doings outside missions, but only expected the best on any mission they undertook. Sakura continued to be interested as further little details about Itachi became apparent to her as she talked to him.

She also had noticed how his tone had become bitter towards the end of what he had told her. Too much pressure on shinobi…Itachi sounded like he had been all too well acquainted with that. Of course he would have been, what with being the heir of the Uchiha clan, and a well-known child prodigy. It was like the pressure that she and Naruto often tried to save Sasuke from, except a hundred times worse. She experienced a small stab of pity. But… "Dangerous results?"

The only sound for a moment was that of sand being kicked up from the constant motions of their shoes on the ground. It made small whooshing sounds as it went flying through the air.

Itachi's eyes were unreadable, and Sakura was having a hard time getting a good look at his facial expression as they kept sprinting. From what she could see, it looked like he regretted saying something. She had the feeling that he didn't exactly want to continue on the conversation with her.

She was proven right when all she received as a reply was a soft, "Hn."

Damn evasive Uchiha answers.

Sakura opened her mouth to question him again, when she was distracted by the next words out of Itachi's mouth.

"We are almost there."

That got her attention. She lit up, avoiding the urge to turn her running into a happy skip. Getting to Suna meant getting out of this blistering sun! She could hear inner Sakura celebrating wildly within her head.

"You are eager to get to Suna." Itachi watched her, taking in the childish joy emanating from her.

Sakura smiled at him freely, momentarily forgetting who her companion was. Her open expression around him caught Itachi off guard, though it did not show on his passive features. "Yes. There are a few people I really want to see again." Gaara, for instance. She didn't know him too well, but she _was,_ in a way, one of the few bonds the man had. He had, after all, tried to kill her when she was twelve. That had to count for _something_.

Also, she had sworn to Naruto to give a message to Gaara. The two hadn't seen each other for a while, and Naruto had been both outraged and admiring upon learning that Gaara had become Kazekage before he had become Hokage. She dreaded actually giving the entirety of Naruto's message to him, because it just consisted of a lot of typical Naruto talk, which mainly sounded like: "Just wait! I'll become Hokage one day, dattebayo!"

She also was eager to meet up with Temari, who she had formed a friendship with during her many visits to Konoha as a Suna ambassador. Shikamaru had also requested her to pass on his greetings to the blonde wind-manipulator, even though she was, in his words, "troublesome".

"Suna is not going anywhere, Sakura. There is no need to hurry."

The deadpan words from Itachi nearly stopped Sakura in her tracks, as she realized with some embarrassment that she had been increasing her speed unconsciously. She scowled, did he always feel the need to notice everything she did?

She bit her tongue, once again reminding herself that this man was her captain, and that replying with a comeback wouldn't be smart.

It would probably only amuse him anyways. The infuriating Uchiha only seemed to be entertained with everything she said or did.

"Yes…Captain," Sakura said reluctantly, her tone becoming relatively distant.

She saw a brief flash of annoyance go through Itachi's dark blue eyes.

So it irked him when she called him 'captain', did it? She smirked inwardly, glad at having some sort of power over the damn Uchiha for once. Since Itachi (for some reason which was completely unknown to her) appeared to be, at the very least, interested in her in some way, she could guess that it was irritating to have her become so formal and withdrawn from him.

Maybe she had been going about this the wrong way. Maybe if she just became distant and cool towards him, instead of letting everything he said get to her, he'd leave her alone.

She supposed she had a wickedly speculative look on her face, because Itachi began in a slightly warning tone, "Sakura—"

"Yo, Haruno! Itachi!"

Hana's voice reached them from quite a distance away, and the two saw the Inuzuka racing towards them gleefully, followed by Shisui. "Just a few more dunes and then we'll be able to see Suna! We'll finally get out of this damn sand!" Hachiko barked joyfully from beside her, eager to lend her two cents to the conversation.

Sakura, relieved to be rescued from whatever Itachi had been about to say, called back, "That's great, Hana-san!"

* * *

The first thing that happened to Sakura when they were escorted to the main building in Suna that housed the meeting rooms and important offices was that she was smothered by Temari's arms around her. A meeting had obviously only just adjourned, as many elders who had the appearance of being council members were filing out of a side door and into the main foyer that Sakura, Itachi, Hana, and Shisui had been led to.

Upon witnessing the enthusiastic greeting between a Sand and Leaf kunoichi, some of the council members were muttering and shaking their heads in obvious disapproval, while others were smiling at the reunion of friends.

Temari didn't pay any attention to them—she was never one to give a damn about what the old coots thought anyways. "Sakura, just how've you been doing?"

Sakura smiled, doing her best to gasp out through Temari's hug, "I'm f-fine Temari."

To the happiness of Sakura's lungs, the blonde girl pulled away with a smile. "How's that lazy-ass ninja doing?"

"Shikamaru's good, he sends a hello to you."

"I'll bet pineapple head said it was troublesome to ask you to say hey to me," Temari said with a roll of her eyes.

Sakura laughed, but the reunion was interrupted by the arrival of Temari's two younger brothers.

The elder one, Kankuro, grabbed hold of Temari's arm and said with a sigh, "Let her breathe, Temari. I told you not to attack her on sight."

Kankuro grinned at Sakura, who couldn't help but smile back. Though she wasn't well-acquainted with the face-paint wearing boy, Sakura had met Kankuro various times when he had accompanied Temari to Konoha. Though she didn't hold any particular feelings of dislike towards him, Sasuke and Naruto were still a little sore over how they had met during the chunin exam four years ago.

Her eyes moved onto Gaara, and Sakura was surprised at what she saw there. Gaara had really…grown up. He was taller than she was now, and had left his crimson locks of hair longer. _But, it's his face that changed the most,_ Sakura thought. _It used to be so animalistic and cruel…now he looks calmer and much more passive. Naruto, you have a lot of catching up to do, ne?_

Gaara solemnly observed the Konoha shinobi, inclining his head politely after a second. "Welcome. I am glad you were able to arrive safely and quickly in Suna."

Itachi had his eyes steadily fixed on Gaara, and briefly nodded his head in acknowledgement of Gaara's greeting. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama. Tsunade-sama sends her greetings and expresses hope that this endeavor will further the alliance between Sand and Leaf."

"Indeed," Gaara said softly, in agreement.

All of the other shinobi in the room, with the exception of Gaara and Itachi, looked rather bored. Such proceedings did not hold any real meaning, and were mere polite political gestures. As a matter of fact, Sakura noticed with disturbed feelings, Temari was unabashedly eyeing Itachi with a vaguely interested expression on her face.

Sakura very nearly snorted. Leave it to Temari to become interested in someone like Itachi. The girl was unhealthily obsessed with men, especially good-looking ones like the Uchiha. She had complained to Sakura once about how her village was "filled with some damn hot clans. Suna doesn't have anything hot, unless you count the weather".

Itachi and Gaara were still speaking with one another, but the conversation ended when Itachi said in a quietly monotonic voice, "Could I speak with you privately for a moment, Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara surveyed Itachi before he swiftly nodded. Turning to Temari and Kankuro, he told them, "Kankuro, Temari, I will trust you two to show everyone to the rooms prepared for our guests."

He then directed his attention towards Sakura, jade eyes meeting leaf green. Recognition briefly went across his expression at the sight of her, as well as a fleeting look of discomfort and regret. Sakura winced at the look, guessing that he was remembering what he had done to her during the disastrous battle with Naruto in the chunin exams. "Haruno-san, will you be able to begin your medical lessons tomorrow morning?" His voice was rather hesitant at speaking to her.

"Yes, it will be no trouble, Kazekage-sama," Sakura said, her lips turning up in a soft smile in an attempt to be friendly.

"Very well. I thank you for your time and effort. I will see you all later. Uchiha-san, please come with me." And with that, Gaara left the room through another door, which was shut after Itachi quickly strode through it.

Sakura exchanged brief looks with Hana and Shisui, inquiring with her eyes what Itachi could possibly need to talk to Gaara about. Shisui gave a minute shrug, though he was looking at the door Itachi had just gone through with confusion, and Hana merely frowned in bemusement.

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted when her arm was grabbed by Temari. If she hadn't had her super strength, she would have blanched at the force of the blonde's grip.

"C'mon, Sakura. Let's go see your room."

Sakura hesitated. "I'm sure you have much more important things to get done, Temari. Don't waste your time on me!"

Kankuro laughed, then sent a smirk at his sister. "Are you kidding, Sakura-san? Most of the time she just runs around nagging me and Gaara to do things. With you here as a distraction maybe she'll leave us alone—Oof!"

Temari stalked past her brother after successfully planting a fist on his head. She looked over at Hana as she dragged Sakura from the room. "I'll show you to your room too. Kankuro, you can bring the guys to theirs."

Hana and Hachiko caught up to Sakura and Temari and walked out the door with them without a backwards glance, leaving Shisui and Kankuro in the foyer.

Kankuro was still rubbing his head from where his sister had knocked him one, sure that there was going to be one big damn lump on it tomorrow. "Why is my life so filled with violent women?" Kankuro muttered.

Shisui let out a laugh as he grinned at the younger man. "Comes with the job, I guess. At least be thankful that she can't punch you through walls, like Sakura."

Kankuro paled as he imagined Temari with that ability.

"Good point."

* * *

"Kazekage-sama, I wish to have permission to freely leave or enter the gates of Suna as often as needed." Itachi's voice sounded unusually loud in Gaara's silent office.

If Gaara was surprised, he hid it well as he looked up questioningly at Itachi from behind his desk, where he was seated. "For what purpose, Uchiha-san?"

Itachi's expression yielded nothing as Gaara examined it—a perfect mask. "Reconnaissance," was his short reply.

"Oh?"

"There have been certain rumors in this area of an…organization of great interest to Konoha. Tsunade-sama has requested that I examine the matter thoroughly." Itachi produced a small, sealed scroll from the sleeve of his shirt, which he then handed to Gaara. "She has asked that I give this to you."

As he perused the contents of the scroll, a look of understanding descended upon his face. "I see. The Akatsuki."

Itachi said nothing, only waited in silence.

Gaara set down the scroll, and stood up from his desk to face his window. "They are indeed a problem. I can only assume that Konoha has collected more information on them than Suna has currently been able to."

"Not exponentially. They are well versed in keeping their movements and whereabouts hidden. Jiraiya has been able to ascertain that they are after the biju."

Gaara turned to look at Itachi. "And what of Haruno Sakura? Though I have quelled most of the opposition to your presence here, there are still some who are displeased with it."

"I trust my teammates to watch out for her during my absences."

"I must ask that they exercise caution in defending her, if it comes to that. Though I am favorable to an alliance with Konoha, much of the council is not. If a fight breaks out, it will be difficult to soothe tempers both in Suna and Konoha."

"I have already spoken to both of them of this matter. They will not act rashly, Kazekage-sama."

There was a short pause as Gaara considered Itachi.

"Very well," Gaara finally said. "I give you permission to come and go as you require, Uchiha-san."

"Thank you."

"I do ask, though, that what information you do acquire of the Akatsuki will be shared with me. It is, after all, Suna's objective to end them as well."

Itachi did not reply for a moment, considering, before he said quietly, "Very well."

The conversation was short and to the point. There was nothing more to be said, so Itachi merely said, "Excuse me, Kazekage-sama."

At Gaara's nod, Itachi quickly took his leave.

The noon sun was high in the sky as Gaara returned to his desk, his jade eyes deep in thought as he absentmindedly fingered Tsunade's scroll.

* * *

**Yay for another chapter! Thanks so much for all your patience with me, as well as for your support. I appreciate constructive criticism, helpful tips, or just plain ol' happy comments, so please leave a review and show love for ItaSaku! ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…at all. And I never will, much to my distress. **

* * *

At five thirty the next morning, a loud, persistent knocking sounded on Sakura's front door. At first she ignored it, letting out a tired moan and burying her face in her pillow. As the knocking kept going on, she groggily rolled over in bed, cracking an eye open to glance at the clock.

At five thirty-one, Sakura swore that she would _murder_ the person who was waking her up at this godforsaken hour. They would die through the most inventive way she was capable of. Possibly something involving some shiny, metallic surgeon's instruments.

At five thirty-two, Shisui's voice drifted in through thin walls of the building as he continued pounding on her door.

"Yo, Sakura-chan! Time to wake up now, princess. We've got to get you to the hospital by six thirty!"

Just perfect. Upon hearing Shisui, Sakura groaned in despair.

Why her? Why did she have to get stuck with an annoying, loudmouth of a teammate _again._ Wasn't it enough that she had Naruto on her regular squad? Why couldn't she just have had a nice, quiet guy like Shino instead of Shisui on her team?

Sakura could have cried at the unfairness of it all. She had been counting on at least another two hours of sleep, dammit!

The knocking came again, and this time it sounded like that idiot Uchiha was getting ready to break the door down.

"_Sakura_, we need to get going, and I don't want Itachi kicking my ass when he gets back if he finds out that Suna's going to war with us because _you_ refused to get out of bed!"

That got through to her. When Itachi got back…did that mean he wasn't in Suna? Just where was he then? Well, that explained why it wasn't him dragging her out of bed. Though Sakura had the uncomfortable feeling that if he'd been here, he would have simply bypassed knocking and just walked into her room to pull her out of bed. He seemed to like annoying her by invading her personal space, at any rate.

Sleepily, she sat up rubbing her eyes. Throwing off her covers grumpily, she stalked out of bed, stomping towards the door Shisui was pounding on.

"I'll be out in a second. Just quit pounding on the door before I decide to pound _your_ head in, Shisui-san!" Sakura growled through the wooden door at the Uchiha.

Almost instantly, the knocking stopped. Sakura smiled in satisfaction and rubbed her forehead wearily, reveling in the blissful silence. Sometimes it was highly nice to have the reputation of super strength. It usually made people listen to her, for fear of ending up with fist-shaped holes in their stomachs. But it looked like she wasn't going to be getting any more sleep today, courtesy of Shisui. She looked once at her bed, then sighed and headed to the shower.

About fifteen minutes later, Sakura emerged from her bathroom, her hair damp and tousled after her rushed shower. She strapped on her medic pack around her waist, and straightened her traditional red vest and black skirt in a uneasy manner.

Apparently it was time for her to go teach her first class.

Sakura turned around and headed to her hotel room door.

And she wasn't at all sure if she was ready.

Reminding herself not to break hotel property, Sakura wrenched open the front door as gently as she could. Still, the door flew open and banged into a wall, causing a small crack to appear where it hit.

She winced. Dammit. That would probably be coming out of her paycheck for this mission if it was noticed.

Then she turned her best glower on Shisui, who was leaning up against the hallway wall in a carelessly lazy pose. Really, the man could at least look a _little_ bit guilty about her rude awakening. Sakura instantly decided to take her previous opinion of him back; Shisui was _every _bit as arrogant as the rest of those damn Uchihas.

Sakura took a menacing step in the black-haired man's direction, her black boots clacking ominously on the tile of the hallway. "Shisui-san, I could think of a million better ways to wake up, and hearing your voice first thing in the morning is _not_ one of them."

Shisui grinned at that. "Oh? Damn, that's not usually what most girls say to me."

Sakura rolled her eyes at his bravado, though she wasn't entirely sure it was all made up. There were plenty of shallow girls panting after the Uchiha men, what with their good looks and wealth.

"I'm not most girls, idiot." Sakura scoffed at the very idea of becoming a mindless Uchiha fangirl. Sure, she had been somewhat of one once when she had her crush on Sasuke-kun, but she was _way_ over that now. Hell, she was sixteen and a chunin kunoichi, she didn't exactly have time for boys and giggles.

Shisui chuckled softly. "That's very true, Sakura-chan. I'm usually not scared by most pink-haired sixteen-year-olds." Suddenly, he adopted a mischievous twinkle in his trademark dark eyes. "So…if not me, then how 'bout waking up to Itachi's voice first thing in the morning?" He shook his head in amusement. He was joking, but really, you'd have to be _blind_ not to notice that there was something between those two. Even Hana, who was possibly the worst person in the world when it came to relationships and the like (she preferred beating guys up to dating them), had seen the oddness in how Itachi regarded Sakura.

Though he was clearly in jest, Sakura's eyes became stormy. _What the hell, first Hana, now him? Nosy busybodies!_ She thought venomously.

Shisui took one look at her grumpy expression, and wisely retreated backwards a few steps, holding up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Kidding, Sakura."

For Sakura was clearly not in a good mood. A lack of sleep tended to do that to her. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke could heartily attest to that. All it took was one wrong word and you could be eating out of a straw for a week. Or possibly longer. Sakura's personal best had been landing Naruto in the hospital for a month after he had frantically woken her up at six in the morning to inform her that he was out of ramen, and needed her to borrow some of hers. That had been the last time anyone of Team Seven had dared to interrupt her slumber.

Shisui shrugged, smiling at her in a slightly apologetic way. "Sorry for waking you up this early. One of the Kazekage's aids was scurrying around looking for you, in a panic cause no one had told you what time to be at the hospital. So, it fell on me to play messenger."

"Hm," Sakura muttered, unwillingly lightening the angry expression on her face. Her soft side was giving in to the genuinely sorry look Shisui was wearing. She felt a little part of her resolve to be irritated crumble away. She couldn't really stay mad at Shisui—it wasn't his fault that everyone had forgotten to tell her when she had to give her first medical lecture. _Besides_, Sakura thought mournfully, _he's wearing that stupid puppy dog look that Sasuke-kun sometimes has when he does something wrong. I can't ever resist that dammit! _"Sorry."

"'S okay, Sakura," Shisui replied cheerfully. "Anyways, come on. You don't want to be late, right?"

Oh right. The stupid lesson.

"Y-yeah."

Sakura swallowed at the reminder of what she was about to do. To say that she felt apprehensive was a gigantic understatement. To say that she felt like she wanted to throw up more accurately summed up her feelings right now. She only hoped that her stomach would choose a more appropriate time to empty itself out, rather than choosing to do so when she was trying to teach. She didn't think the med-nins would appreciate that very much, somehow.

Even though Tsunade had said that there wasn't much longer for her to go in her apprenticeship, Sakura wasn't sure how well _she_ would perform as the teacher. After all, she had always been more adept at learning new techniques and information than she had been in teaching them. She had been the best at the academy in all of her studies (but she had a feeling that had Shikamaru actually stayed awake during class, he would have beaten her with no problem), and even Kakashi-sensei had praised her ability to learn quicker than both of the boys. But still…

How many shinobi would really take a five-foot-two, pink haired kunoichi seriously anyways?

Sakura knew her fears and uncertainty were silly—for heaven's sake, she'd gone through more challenging missions than this when she was twelve! Compared to surviving attacks from Zabuza and facing a raging Gaara head on in the chunin exams, this mission should have been a walk in the park!

When Tsunade had first told her about Gaara's request to have a competent medic-nin come and evaluate and further educate their medics, Sakura's first thought had been that either Shizune-nee-san or Tsunade herself would be going.

So she was in for a bit of a surprise when Tsunade had briefly told Sakura that _she_ would be the one going.

Needless to say, Sakura had protested, though Tsunade had merely rolled her eyes and said curtly, "Don't be ridiculous, Sakura. I'm busy with matters in Konoha and Shizune's too occupied at the hospital and with my, er, the paperwork." Sakura had had difficulty at refraining from snorting. It was true, if Shizune weren't around, none of the official paperwork would _ever_ get done, and Konoha's political system would probably fall into complete chaos. "Anyways, you're the next best choice obviously."

Sakura shook her head as she walked next to Shisui down the hallway.

Sometimes Tsunade's compliments sounded far too sarcastic to really be taken as such. She had felt slightly better at the off-hand praise, at least until Tsunade had continued on to add, "Just don't screw up, Sakura. A lot is riding on this mission to improve our standing with Suna. If I hear you've done a less than perfect job, you'll be doing graveyard shifts at the hospital for the rest of your natural life."

Which had effectively sent Sakura's confidence level plummeting back down. At Tsunade's dismissive wave, Sakura had trudged out of her office, wondering why of all the Sannin, she had begged Tsunade to teach her. If she had known that four years of exposure to Tsunade's sharp tongue and brutal training waited for her, she might have reconsidered. Then again, a lazy, blonde woman with an age-complex seemed like a better choice than a pervy sage or a creepy snake man.

Suddenly pulling away from her thoughts, Sakura looked up beside her as she turned a corner in the hotel. Shisui was still leisurely walking beside her, keeping up with her effortlessly.

Sakura blinked.

Why was he still following her? Sakura turned her attention to the taller man pointedly. "Don't you have something else to do other than follow me, Shisui-san?" Honestly, there must have been something better he could occupy his time with rather than walking with her.

He suppressed a grin at her annoyed tone of voice, then said flippantly, "Nope, nothing really comes to mind."

She bristled at his deliberate brush-off. "Why don't you go find Hana, and leave me alone," she said dryly, hoping he'd take the hint and leave. Really, he couldn't be so oblivious. But on the other hand, it _was _Shisui. And like most Uchiha men, he wasn't the most adept at picking up on subtle hints. Maybe just telling him to get lost would work better.

Shisui just ignored her, and continued to stroll alongside of her nonchalantly.

She peered up at him suspiciously. This following her—it almost seemed like Shisui was acting more like a guard dog than anything else. "I'll be fine by myself from here. So _leave_, please." There. If he didn't understand _that_ then he was a hopeless case.

Her fears were confirmed when Shisui replied lightly, "No can do, Sakura-chan."

She stared at him, confused. "Why?"

Shisui rubbed his head in an absentminded motion. "Just because."

"Elaborate, please," she said blankly.

"There's nothing to elaborate on, Sakura."

"So, you're just stalking me because you suddenly felt like it?"

"I wouldn't call it _stalking_ exactly…more like, um, following?"

"And just _why_ do you need to follow me?" She questioned, raising her eyebrow at him.

There was a brief pause as Shisui clearly considered what to say.

"…I've become crazily infatuated with you?" Shisui tried, shooting her a devious smile.

Sakura laughed. "I don't really believe that Shisui-san." Besides, that excuse didn't ever work. She should know, she had tried it on Itachi back when she had invaded his room looking for blackmail. And Itachi had, unfortunately, seen right through it.

"I'm coincidentally heading the same way you are?"

"Why would you need to suddenly go to the hospital?" She sighed. "Why don't you try telling me the truth?"

He seemed rather reluctant. "Well…"

"Yes?" Sakura asked, expectantly.

"Itachi sort of…in a roundabout way, of course…" Shisui trailed off, sensing that nothing good was going to come of this.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. Itachi? Whatever Shisui was about to say, she could already tell it wasn't going to be news that made her jump and skip with joy. Things related to Itachi usually just caused her more trouble and headache then she cared to ponder.

"Itachi what?"

"He…asked me to keep an eye on you while we're here." Right after saying that, he blanched, as though he wanted to hit himself for saying that.

Quickly, he added, "Just in case."

Sakura felt her eye twitch. What the hell? _Keep an eye on me?_ She was more than capable of taking care of herself, and then some. _Itachi…that—that—_ She couldn't find a word bad enough to describe how much he irritated her.

Her voice quickly dropped to dangerous tones, though she worked hard to maintain a calm façade. "Shisui-san, I think I'm perfectly safe. I know some of the council members and shinobi are against us being here, but it's not like any of them made direct threats, right?"

Shisui, shifting uncomfortably as he walked next to her, was silent.

At his uncommon quietness, Sakura's eyes narrowed. _Oh no…_

"Shisui-san, did Itachi hear something that made him order you and Hana to _trail _me?" She asked incredulously. "And he didn't think it was necessary to _tell_ me about it?"

Still, Shisui said nothing, and Sakura took his silence as confirmation of what she had said. That damn Itachi! She had a right to know if her life was in danger!

_As soon as I see that secretive prick, I'm going to hit him into next week,_ she swore to herself.

Shisui saw Sakura's look, which bespoke of murder and other painful things, and sighed. Itachi probably knew how Sakura would react if she found out that Itachi had ordered him and Hana to watch her in his absence, he thought sourly. He had seen Itachi early this morning before he had left, though Shisui wasn't sure as to what Itachi was up to. He had been rather mysterious and obtuse about where he was going. But then again, Itachi never revealed more than the bare minimum. It was just the way his cousin was.

However, apparently the Kazekage had warned Itachi to be on his guard, as several of the councilmen, with powerful political influence, were taking none too kindly to what they perceived as Konoha's interference with Suna. It seemed like the Suna shinobi weren't pleased about it either, probably feeling the dishonor of their defeat at Konoha's hands in the chunin exams.

Damn, Suna could hold a grudge, Shisui mused. Though grudges weren't really anything new to him. Uchihas could hold grudges for years upon years without tire. As far as he knew, Itachi's old man still hadn't forgiven his father putting the moves on Mikoto-san back when they were genin. And little Sasuke-chan was still sore about the time that Shisui had broken his toy kunai when he was five.

Anyways, just as a precaution (though Shisui had a suspicion that Itachi may be a little prone to overreaction when it came to Sakura) they were to keep an eye on her.

And now, Shisui thought ruefully, rubbing his neck, he had to cover his cousin's ass. Otherwise, he had a feeling Sakura wasn't going to leave much left of the Uchiha heir once she got finished with him.

He exhaled softly. His little cousin's hormones had finally awoken, and the first girl he chose to focus on was Sakura? Typical Itachi, choosing a girl who could tear trees out from the ground with one hand. Sometimes he worried about his best friend's mental health.

"Shisui-san." Sakura's voice woke him from his reverie. And she certainly didn't sound too happy. Thankfully he had plenty of practice soothing ruffled female feathers, due to practice with Hana. Though, admittedly, he didn't succeed in placating her too often.

By this time they had reached the elevator on their floor, and had entered it. Unfortunately for Shisui, it was empty, leaving room for the conversation to continue.

Buying more time for himself, Shisui pretended to fumble with the buttons, attempting to locate the one that would bring them to the lobby of the hotel.

Sakura, noticing his poor try at ignoring her, swiftly reached across him and punched the right button with a little more force than necessary. The elevator doors closed with a soft _bing_, and there was a soft electronic whirr as it began to move down.

Shisui ran a hand through his hair, letting out a short breath. Giving up, and wondering if he could outrun Itachi later, he said to her seriously, "Look, Sakura. Itachi just didn't want to worry you unnecessarily."

Oh yes. Because finding out that Itachi hadn't thought to tell her about anything just made the situation so much less worrisome. Sakura's head snapped up, and she began hotly, "But he—"

"—is just doing what he thinks is best for you," Shisui interrupted.

Sakura raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh really?" She said flatly, unwaveringly staring at him.

"It's obvious that you've been preoccupied with having to almost completely reform the medical program here. He probably didn't want to add onto your concerns, Sakura."

He paused a moment before continuing. "I know Itachi's a little…difficult to deal with sometimes, what with his scary super genius powers," Shisui's tone turned gently teasing, "but generally when he sets his mind on something, he's not likely to give up."

"And I suppose he's decided to set his mind on me, huh?" Sakura muttered more to herself than Shisui.

Shisui looked surprised at that, but shrugged. "I don't know the whole story, so I can't really say."

Sakura fell silent at his slightly admonishing tone of voice. She was unused to Shisui being so solemn, but it made sense that he would want to defend his cousin. She didn't feel much better about Itachi not telling her about the situation, but was experiencing some small amount of guilt for judging him so quickly. Itachi had…clearly been acting with her best interests in mind.

It wasn't really different from how Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi usually tried to protect her, even though they knew she didn't really need it. They were just…concerned. The idea that Itachi was…worried about her was unsettling, to say the least. And it was doing stupid, weird things to her insides, making them feel all fluttery. It was probably just hunger pangs, nothing to do with Itachi, certainly.

Sakura massaged her face with one hand. She was still unused to being the recipient of Itachi's attention.

Shisui softened marginally upon seeing Sakura's chastised-looking expression.

He plopped a hand comfortingly on her head just as the elevator doors slid open again. "Itachi doesn't generally concern himself too much about others, Sakura. You have no idea how weird it is to see him…" He broke off suddenly, his eyes laughing. "Anyways, you seem to be an exception, so try not to challenge him on everything he does." His hand slid off her head, and he exited the elevator, Sakura close behind him.

She huffed. "So, I should just meekly go along with everything he says, huh?" She muttered indignantly, her pink hair swinging as she looked into Shisui's face.

Shisui laughed, and winked at her. "Nah, not everything. It's good that there's actually a girl who won't fall over in awe around him. We don't want Itachi to get a swelled head, now do we?"

Sakura nodded her head in agreement, (though she personally thought it was a little too late to stop Itachi's ego from getting any bigger) repulsed at the idea of ever falling over in awe around _anyone_, least of all Itachi.

At least that was _one_ person she could safely say she would never feel anything more than vexation for.

* * *

When Sakura arrived at the Suna hospital, she was mildly relieved, to say the least. Not only had she been forced to deal with an overeager Shisui dogging her footsteps, but Suna was just so…so _alien. _Everything was so different that it was discomforting. The heat, the wind, the rather bland, tan buildings. Not to mention the civilians and shinobi, some of which had sent rather vicious glares at the Leaf ninja upon seeing their hitai-ates inscribed with the Konoha symbol.

Shisui had gotten directions from one of the Kazekage's aids on how to reach the hospital, and the pair reached the building complex with little strife. There had been a little incident where Shisui had bowled over a little old woman pushing a fruit cart, though. An exasperated Sakura and an apologizing Shisui had helped her pick up all the fruit, all the while receiving death threats from the ninety year old woman. Narrowly escaping the wrath of the old woman, Sakura had wondered just what was in Suna's water that made the elderly here so spry.

Sakura felt infinitely more at home in the hospital, because hospitals were such familiar ground to her. Though the Suna hospital center was much smaller than Konoha's, the usual smells of antiseptic and hospital food set her at ease somewhat. She grinned to herself. _Aah, Ino would call me freaky for feeling so at home in a place where there are sick and bloody people. _Oh well. She couldn't help who she was or what her passions in life were.

She glanced at the Uchiha beside her, who was examining the lobby with interest. "So, Shisui-san, any idea of where I have to go now?"

She waited for him to turn his attention to her. "Nope, sorry."

"What? So basically you dragged me out of my very comfortable and warm bed without knowing where I had to report to?" She asked, disbelievingly.

Shisui rubbed his head (it seemed to be somewhat of a nervous habit of his, from what Sakura had observed) and appeared to be rather abashed. "Er, yeah, it seems that way."

At Sakura's groan, he hastily said, in an attempt to reassure her, "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. We'll just ask someone where you're supposed to go."

She looked at him flatly. "Do you _see_ anyone in here that we can ask?"

And, admittedly, she was right. The small hospital lobby was completely empty, with even the front desks devoid of receptionists or nurses. Though, the lack of activity was most likely because of the early hour of the morning.

She let out a gentle breath, leaning softly against a nearby wall. Belatedly, she wondered why Temari or Kankuro hadn't come to take her to where the lectures were supposed to be. It would have been fun to spend more time with Temari, and Kankuro was usually a companionable guy to be with.

But, Sakura supposed, they were probably busy. She knew that they both worked hard each day to support their brother to the best of their abilities. Countless hours had been dedicated to rebuilding the political structure of Suna and strengthening its economy ever since Gaara had taken the position of Kazekage. She was well educated on the matter, for it was one of Temari's favorite things to talk about.

She smiled inwardly. It was so wonderful to see just how far those three siblings had come. They had gone from being loosely connected by blood to having true bonds of family. One only had to watch Temari and Kankuro around Gaara. Their protectiveness and support was difficult to miss. And Gaara had certainly matured more than ever. She had barely recognized him as the violent boy she had once met four years ago. Sakura could only accredit that change to Naruto's influence, for her fox brother seemed to have that effect on every troubled soul he came into contact with.

_And, speaking of Naruto, I need to give his message to Gaara. _Sakura reminded herself. _I _did _promise him I would after all. Even though it's just an exuberant hello from him._

But it might be difficult to even find a moment when she could speak with Gaara. As Kazekage, it would be understandable that he wouldn't have a lot of time to spare for conversation. Besides, if his reaction to her yesterday was anything to go by, he obviously wasn't all that eager to be around her.

Sakura frowned slightly, recalling his disturbed expression when he had laid eyes on her the other day in the foyer. His jade orbs had shown a brief instant of something akin to regret. But, surely he wasn't blaming himself for what he had done to her at the chunin exams all those years ago? It was all in the past, and she wasn't really one to hold lasting feelings of resentment towards other people. Unless they really, really deserved it. Like Itachi.

The only conclusions Sakura could arrive at was that either he felt ashamed for asking for help from someone he had attacked, or she served as a reminder of when he had tried to harm Naruto and his precious people. One of many reminders of the days when he had existed only as an uncontrollable monster, thirsting for blood.

Sakura only hoped that she could meet with Gaara and try to set things right between them. She knew that Naruto would be horrified if anything was causing his fellow Jinchuuriki and friend to be upset. Naruto never allowed his precious people to get hurt if he could help it, so Sakura felt obligated to protect Naruto's dear friends as well.

However, that didn't change the fact that she was a little disgruntled with the redheaded Kazekage at the moment. _Would it have killed Gaara to tell me where and when to give the medical lessons when I saw him _yesterday? Sakura grumbled to herself. It would have saved her a lot of surprise and from having to wake up to an exuberant Uchiha as an alarm clock.

Suddenly, from across the lobby, the sound of footsteps reached Sakura's ears, causing her to look up alertly. Near her, Shisui was doing the same.

A young man was approaching them. The first thing that caught Sakura's attention was his abnormally good looks (alas, though a hardened kunoichi and one of the most respected ninja of Konoha, Sakura was still a teenage girl, and as such was a slave to her hormones). His skin was slightly dark, probably a result of constant exposure to the Suna sun, and his eyes were a warm gold, with crinkles around the edges that bespoke of good humor. He had wavy brown hair tied back in a pony tail, and there was a light smile playing around his lips in a welcoming gesture.

Sakura, looking at his white lab coat, guessed that he was one of the Suna medic-nins. And she was ever so thankful that there was finally someone who knew where she had to go, as Shisui wasn't much help in that area right now.

She smiled back when she made eye-contact with the man, the pleasantness of his countenance making it hard not to.

He stopped when he arrived near where they were standing, and nodded his head at the two Konoha shinobi. "Welcome, both of you. We've been eagerly waiting for you to arrive." His voice had a straightforward, relaxing quality to it.

Shisui, ever at ease, replied, "Thanks. Sorry for not finding you right away, we weren't exactly sure where to go."

The other man shook his head quickly, saying, "No, it was no fault of yours. I forgot to instruct someone to inform you of where the meeting was taking place." His gaze slid down from Shisui and onto Sakura, who was positioned next to him. "I take it you are Haruno-san?" His voice sounded almost bemused, though he was smiling at her.

She started at being addressed, and then collected herself. "Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you…?" She looked at him questioningly, unsure what to call him.

He laughed, and offered his hand to Shisui. "Takano Shinji, I'm one of the head medic-nins at the hospital. Nice to meet you."

Shisui took it, replying, "Uchiha Shisui."

Takano then held out his hand to Sakura, whose small hand was lost in his larger one when she shook it.

Shisui then looked at Sakura, and said, "I'm actually gonna take off now, Sakura-chan. I think you're in good hands now, so our captain won't serve my head on a silver platter for leaving."

She nodded at him, smiling and told him reassuringly, "I'll be fine from here. I'll see you later, Shisui-san." Sakura had to say, it would be nice to escape from Shisui's watchful gaze for a while.

Shisui grinned at her, said his goodbyes, and strolled out through the front doors of the lobby. Sakura experienced a small pang of nervousness, but didn't have time to dwell on it before Takano turned to her.

"Haruno-san, I'll take you to the meeting room now, if you'll follow me."

"Yes, thank you."

Takano took off across the lobby, Sakura stepping after him quickly. He opened a door leading to a long, cramped hallway, and she went through it, waiting for him to lead the way.

They walked in silence for a few moments, their footsteps echoing in a rhythmic unison, before Sakura looked up at the man and caught him glancing at her.

Sakura sighed. Didn't anyone tell this man that staring was impolite?

"Do I have something on my face, Takano-san?" She asked in amusement.

Takano smiled slightly, and then said, "No, Haruno-san. I was merely…a little puzzled."

"Puzzled?"

He brushed his hair out of his eyes before replying, "I've heard a lot about the skilled apprentice of Tsunade-sama."

Sakura blinked, feeling a little flattered and wondering where this was going. She had never thought to ever be as widely known, or as respected, as Tsunade-shishou was throughout the ninja countries. She had only asked to become her apprentice for the sake of being able to protect her precious people and comrades, and that was still all she truly desired. Though she supposed that Shishou was so respected (by those who didn't really know her of course. People's respect of Tsunade-sama tended to decrease after they got a good look at her office and her tendency to shirk her duties most of the time. Sakura had experienced this firsthand, though she still held her teacher in high regard.) that it was inevitable that Sakura would become noticed by other shinobi because of her apprenticeship.

However, Sakura's brief feeling of flattery quickly dissipated as Takano went on. "I never thought that it would be a small girl with…exotically colored hair."

Forget about this guy's looks, his manners sucked! Sakura's hackles raised, and Inner Sakura began making a racket in her head, something about showing this ass just what a small girl with pink hair could do. Forcing a sweet smile on her face, she told him, "Appearances are usually deceiving, Takano-san. And you know what they say about people who assume things."

He appeared stunned for a moment, his brown eyes widening in surprise. Then he began to laugh quietly. "Forgive me, Haruno-san, I didn't mean to insult. I've been eager to meet a kunoichi of your renowned skill." His gold eyes warmed as he grinned, the action making his face look younger and more boyish. "I was just surprised at how young you were."

Sakura turned her face to directly meet his gaze tetchily, though she was a bit placated. She told him steadily, "I'm sixteen, Takano-san. That's hardly young in the shinobi world." It was the truth, Sakura thought distantly. Size and age in this world didn't mean anything. Sakura had seen kids younger than her be turned into deadly shinobi by the time they were thirteen.

The man's face turned thoughtful as he considered her words. "Yes…I suppose that's true." His tone growing softer, he said, "I am sorry, age is no indicator of experience or talent. And your presence here will doubtlessly be very helpful to Suna."

Sakura blushed at his words, annoyed at the redness she could just feel coming into her cheeks at the compliment. _Honestly, grow up Sakura! _She scolded.

"Takano-san, may I ask you a question?" She said suddenly.

"What is it, Haruno-san?"

Sakura played with her fingers as she walked beside him, trying to figure how to phrase her question without appearing insulting. _Ah, all of this political correctness is annoying!_ She complained to herself. Finally, she asked, "I—well, why does Suna's medical program need help from outside villages? Surely there must be at least one very experienced medic to educate the others?" This had been a question that had been bugging her for some time. Sakura hadn't believed that there wasn't a single competent medic in Suna who could help teach the medics more.

Takano sighed at her question.

Sakura looked up at him hurriedly, embarrassed. "Ah, sorry, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to." Crap, one wrong move in Suna and she would be doing graveyard shifts at the hospital for years. Sakura paled just at the idea of it, cursing the fact that Tsunade had been able to come up with a sure-fire incentive for Sakura to be on her best behavior in Suna. Her Shishou knew just the right buttons to push, it seemed.

"No, it's fine. I'm just thinking of how to answer it," Takano said absently. "You see, we do have one extremely skilled medic in Suna." He glanced at Sakura. "It's been said that she even rivals Tsunade in healing ability."

Sakura's green eyes grew large. There was someone that good at healing in the village? Then what the heck did they need _her _there for?

Takano kept talking, "However, Chiyo-sama, the medic, doesn't really do much anymore. She only works as an advisor now, along with her brother. Some people thinks she's getting old and senile, but still, she's one of the most brilliant medics ever to have lived."

"I wish I could meet her," Sakura said longingly, her face lighting up in the anticipation of doing so. It would be an amazing experience to come into contact with someone like that. Sakura enjoyed encountering people who could enrich her knowledge of the world and its inner workings.

Takano, in a gentle manner, told her, "I'm afraid that's probably not going to happen. Chiyo-sama almost never comes out of her house, and she…doesn't take too kindly to shinobi from other villages." Then reluctantly, he added, "Especially Konoha shinobi."

"Oh," Sakura said almost inaudibly. She wasn't too surprised at that. After all, most villages held large amounts of animosity towards each other. Therefore, the shinobi and civilians despised people from outside villages as well. It was just a basic principle of the world they lived in, no matter how much she disliked it.

"There is too much prejudice in the world, Haruno-san," Takano breathed out quietly, not looking at her. "Hopefully with the welcoming of Konoha shinobi, we can bridge some of the gaps of hatred that have grown within the ninja world as of late."

"Mm," Sakura murmured quietly in agreement. There wasn't much to be said in reply to a statement like that.

Takano slowly came to a stop in front of a door, surprising Sakura. "We're here, Haruno-san." He was smiling again, giving her an encouraging look. "Are you ready?

_Good question_, Sakura wryly thought. Well, there was no point in agonizing over this further. Steeling her confidence, reminding herself that she was Tsunade's apprentice, a pupil of Kakashi, and that she was in for a million hours of horrible nighttime shifts at the hospital if she didn't do this right, she nodded.

Sakura was acutely aware of every eye in the meeting room on her as she walked in. She heard the door snap shut as Takano-san closed it behind him after entering, and the sound sounded much louder and foreboding than usual.

Well, here she was, shut in a room with a bunch of unfriendly Suna ninja. From what Sakura could roughly count, there appeared to be somewhere between sixty and seventy medic-nin in the room. Sakura frowned, that wasn't nearly as many as Konoha had presently. Suna really needed to build up the medical program they had—part of its weakness was probably that there weren't enough med-nin.

Takano-san motioned for her to follow him to the front of the room as he passed her by; and Sakura, adopting an outwardly confident façade, followed him. Some of the faces of the medics, she noted, were skeptical, others interested, and a few were rather blank.

Mentally going over what she was going to say in her mind as she reached the forefront of the room, she inhaled and began her lesson.

* * *

Soft rays of light illuminated the planes of Sakura's face as the sun sank behind the buildings of Suna. Sakura closed her eyes, her lashes dusting her skin lightly as she did so.

She was comfortably perched on the flat roof of the hotel she and the others were residing in for the time being. She had escaped to the rooftop for some alone time, which she felt she had rightfully earned. After all, her lesson had only just ended at about five in the evening; she had taught and explained and performed examples all day with only one or two breaks in between.

A light breeze blew through the area, caressing her face gently.

The meeting had gone surprisingly well, as far as Sakura's ability to teach had went. This time, she had simply attempted to discover the level at which the medic-nin were currently at, and had found, to her disbelief, that there was a lot of work to be done. Not to say that the level of ability was _horrible_, Sakura mused, just not quite up to par of the Konoha medic-nins.

The knowledge of poisons that the medics had was rudimentary at best, and most needed to work on their chakra control. She had proceeded to use the 'fish test' (that was Tsunade's name for it) to further observe their abilities, where she had asked the medics to successfully heal a wounded fish. The results had been…interesting, and that was putting it lightly. Sakura winced just at remembering the practice session. She recalled how one of the medics, a young chunin, had somehow accidentally caused the fish to start going into spasms and leaping about on the table. Another had somehow stimulated the jump reflex while attempting to heal it, causing it to smack the medic next to them in the face.

_Yeah, definitely improvement is needed._ Sakura thought with a small shake of her head.

She leaned forwards, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her head lazily on them, allowing her hair to fall around her face in a pink curtain. It was nice to be alone to collect her thoughts, as Shisui and Hana had been around her all day. It had seemed like they thought someone was going to jump out from behind a trashcan and try to do her in.

She really, really wished that Itachi was back so that she could talk to him about his paranoia. A talk that might involve her fists.

But, oddly enough, she hadn't seen him at all that day, and Shisui and Hana had both claimed not to know where he was. Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in displeasure—why was that man always around when she _didn't _want to see him, and never at hand when she actually _did_ have to talk to him? She swore he did it just to get under her skin.

And she had no idea of what he could possibly be doing that required him to be away during the day. She didn't _think_ it was another mission. If he had another mission to complete on the side of this one, he probably would have taken Hana or Shisui with him. But…Itachi did seem to have a tendency to do things on his own. So he could very well be off doing something mission-related. Which meant he was potentially doing something dangerous that could get him hurt, and he didn't even have any back up.

Sakura immediately cut off her thoughts. _Ugh, I shouldn't even be worrying about him. He's an ANBU captain, he can take care of himself, idiot!_

She let out a frustrated breath. Just entertaining thoughts about Itachi always made her more confused.

"I have no idea how that man thinks," she muttered to herself.

"Who are you talking to?"

Sakura leapt up at the sound of the extra voice on the roof, nearly losing her footing as she sprang from her sitting position.

To her surprise, the person that had spoken was…Gaara. He was standing on the roof, his arms crossed over his chest and his usual apathetic face staring at her.

Sakura was completely ready to smack herself on the forehead upon realizing he had heard her talking to herself. Inner Sakura chose this moment to chime in, _Good way to make yourself look crazy, Sakura-chan._ Mentally ignoring her inner self, she reluctantly told the red-headed teen, "No one. I was just…talking to myself."

Gaara was now looking at her in a bemused way. "You…talk to yourself regularly?" He asked slowly.

Sakura had to admit, this was starting off to be an extremely odd conversation. Tucking her pink hair behind her ear to stop the wind from blowing it around, she said defensively, "It was just this once, okay? I don't do it all the time!"

"Oh."

Why was Gaara on the roof with her anyways? Unless he liked to sit on this particular rooftop, he was probably there to speak with her. And he _still_ looked uncomfortable while he was talking to her. Though maybe that was just the natural aversion to people that Gaara seemed to have.

There was a long silence, until Sakura uncertainly questioned, "Did you need to ask me something?"

Gaara nodded, replying, "Aa. I wanted your evaluation on Suna's medics, Haruno-san."

Sakura blanched internally. Of course that was what he wanted. Now, the question was whether to soften the truth or to just boldly say what she thought.

She grimaced, mentally debating which one would be better, and less likely to affront Gaara. In the end, she decided on a halfway approach between truth and softening the truth.

"The medic-nin aren't completely without skill…but they need a lot of instruction," she told him softly. "It might take a while longer to improve them, I'm really going to need to work with them as much as I can."

Thankfully, Gaara didn't look offended or like he was getting ready to use his death grip of sand on her again. He merely had a contemplative look on his face, his gaze far off.

Then he commented, "If it's possible, I would like you to meet with them every day while you're here." He paused, and then added, "As long as it is not too much of a strain."

Sakura smiled brightly, trying to reassure him that she didn't mind at all. "It's not a problem. I'm already considering what areas I can improve them in and what they need to learn."

"It is duly appreciated."

Silence reigned between the two standing on the rooftop. The sky was rapidly darkening as the sunset neared completion, casting a shadow over everything. In the distance, Sakura could hear the caw of birds flying over Suna.

Sakura shifted on her feet, and wasn't really sure what else Gaara could want from her. If that was it, why didn't he just leave?

She studied his face. He was wearing a strangely hesitant look, from the way his jade eyes kept glancing towards her, and he hadn't made any move to go.

She allowed her lips to tilt in a small smile as she suddenly realized what Gaara's true purpose in coming to see her must be. She linked her hands behind her back, and took a few steps forward until she was nearer to him.

"Naruto asked me to pass on a message to you, Gaara," Sakura said cheerfully, looking up into his face. She dropped his formal title, as Naruto probably would have laughed outrageously at the idea of having to call Gaara "Kazekage-sama". This way, the message was more Naruto-style.

Gaara blinked at her sudden use of his name, and his expression briefly registered surprise at her words. Sakura congratulated herself on her correct guess of what he had sought her out for. Of course it must have been Naruto, what with the bond they had formed with each other during the chunin exams. Gaara cast a glance at her, waiting for her to continue.

"How is…Naruto faring?"

Sakura laughed, instantly becoming a little more at ease at the subject of one of her best friends. Her laughter seemed to marginally relax Gaara, his stiff position lessening somewhat as he stood there. "He's the same Naruto as usual. Upbeat, loudmouthed, and forever trying to become stronger."

She swore she saw a corner of Gaara's lips lift in what was probably a smile. "Anyways," she went on, encouraged by his response, "Naruto wanted me to tell you he said hello, and that he won't be far behind you in becoming a kage." She shook her head despairingly at Naruto's competitiveness. "To tell you the truth, I think he's impressed that you managed to make it before he did, though he'll never admit it."

"I am…glad to hear he is doing well," Gaara said quietly, his jade eyes meeting her leaf green ones.

She nodded. "Mm. He really wanted to come see you, but Tsunade-sama wouldn't allow it. She was afraid he would do something stupid to upset your council." Tsunade was completely right to do so, in her opinion. Knowing her knucklehead friend, he'd do something to offend the council elders and ruin the already delicate relations they had with Suna. Really, if Naruto wanted to become Hokage some day, he was going to have to learn the art of politics.

"Hm." Gaara actually looked amused at that.

Sakura smiled serenely at his amusement, and then told him, "That's all, really. Naruto probably would have written you a letter, but he's not the greatest correspondent, so…" She trailed off. "Anyways, I should probably head back inside now. I have another early day tomorrow and I want to plan my lessons."

Gaara inclined his head in agreement. "That is fine."

Sakura started to make her way past him at his words, until Gaara suddenly spoke.

"Haruno-san."

She stopped where she was, turning to look at him curiously. "Yes?"

Gaara met her gaze. "Thank you," he simply said to her, his voice still a slight monotone, but somehow effectively communicating gratitude.

She had a feeling it wasn't the medical lessons he was thanking her for, and shook her head, smiling gently. "Mm, you don't have to thank me." She stopped, unsure if she was saying too much, but told him, "I'm glad Naruto has someone else that understands how he feels. He's a very important person to me, you know."

"He is to many people," Gaara remarked, his body now turned towards Suna and the fading sun, his eyes focused on them.

"Indeed," she replied.

Sakura was...strangely satisfied. It seemed that she and Gaara both had something in common: their friendship with Naruto. She felt glad that she was able to make a connection with him, however small it may be, and that Naruto had a strong friend and ally in Gaara. She was inexplicably grateful for that.

Nothing much further was said between the two--the short exchange was enough in itself.

Sakura slipped away from the rooftop with a murmered "Goodnight", exhausted from the day and desiring nothing more than a long sleep.

* * *

**Okay, first of all I'm so sorry for making all of you wonderful readers out there wait so long for another chapter. I can safely say that if it hadn't been for all of the wonderful encouragement you guys gave me in your reviews it would have taken me much longer to get this out. So I can only say thank you for giving me the support and motivation to write this!**

**There's no Itachi in this chapter (I wanted to put him in here so badly, but he just wouldn't fit in anywhere!) so he will definitely be in the next chapter. Hopefully there will also be some ItaSaku interaction too. By the way, has anyone read the latest manga chapters of Naruto? Gaara is so cool in them :-). **

**I appreciate constructive criticism, helpful tips, or just plain old happy comments, so please leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own the manga/anime Naruto. Or Itachi T.T**

* * *

There was a satisfying cloud of dust, sand, and rock flying through the air as Sakura drove her gloved hand into the hard ground of the Suna training area.

Large cracks spiraled in interconnected patterns, a dark chasm forming within them.

She was breathing hard, her body already reaching its breaking point for the day. Most of her muscles were screaming in protest when she tried to move them, as she must have been out training for a few hours already.

However, Sakura surveyed her handy-work with no small amount of pride and pleasure—it seemed that she had nearly mastered the technique that Shishou had taught her only a few weeks ago.

She grinned with satisfaction as she adjusted the black gloves on her hands, for this was something that no one else but Sakura and Tsunade herself could do.

Sakura didn't take pride in many things, but her perfect chakra control was the exception. It was an ability that set her apart, and made her unique. Not even Naruto, for all of his chakra reserves, or Sasuke, with the skilled techniques and bloodline of his clan, could perform the more advanced jutsus or demonstrate the physical strength that she was able to.

And indeed, signs of that physical strength lay all around Sakura, the destroyed training grounds a testament to her potential. The dusty ground was riddled with large craters, and the dead trees were snapped in half, their gray trunks sprawled on the ground haphazardly.

Hopefully Suna wouldn't be too upset that their training grounds had been demolished overnight.

Sakura really had to say, the Suna training grounds were much more convenient than Konoha's for her training needs. It was sparse and empty, and was situated on the very outskirts of the city where there was no possibility of civilians wandering into.

She laughed softly to herself—Naruto and Sasuke-kun would probably love it here. A wide open area with no obstacles where they could freely bet each other to a pulp? She shook her head, already imagining how man more broken ones and bruises her two boys would be able to accumulate out here.

Though she did miss them, it was probably better that they weren't here after all.

Wiping the sweat off her brow, and pushing her slick bangs out of her face, Sakura closed her eyes, concentrating a precise amount of chakra into the tip of one of her fingers. She gingerly pressed her finger onto the ground, and heaved her body up onto it in a balanced, one-finger handstand.

_Che_,_ Kaka-sensei may be able to do one finger pushups, but I'd like to see him do _this. She giggled quietly as she got a sudden mental image of her teacher trying to read his smutty books upside down on one finger. Knowing Kaka-sensei, he'd actually manage to do it somehow.

She quickly shook the thought away, going back to focusing on her exercise. This was an exercise Tsunade-shishou had taught to her in order for her to gain more experience in precisely directing her chakra. And it really required a lot of intense concentration.

Sakura was secretly glad that there were no bodies of water in Suna. Shishou, in her usual sadistic way, always instructed Sakura to do this on the lake near the training grounds. And it was so utterly _hard_ to keep herself on the surface of the water while simultaneously keeping steady on one finger.

_At least I didn't have to take many baths after training, what with how much I kept falling in the stupid lake,_ she mused grouchily.

All in all, however, Sakura was extremely delighted that she had bumped into Temari late last night. The older girl had been only too happy to direct her to a training area she could use.

She truly wanted to train for two reasons, the first one being that she really, really needed to prepare for the jounin exams. In the end, it had turned out that Kaka-sensei _had_ nominated Sasuke, Naruto, and her for the exams.

She scowled to herself, because if Kakashi had just told them earlier, she wouldn't have been coerced into breaking into the Hokage's office with her two numbskull teammates. Hence, she never would have been forced onto a date with the demon Uchiha.

Dammit, now that she really thought about it, it was all sensei's fault that she was being stalked by Itachi!

_Note to self: burn Kaka-sensei's special edition Icha-Icha books when I get back to Konoha_, she grimly thought.

Anyways, the other reason she had desperately wanted to train was that it was rather relaxing for her—what with Itachi, being followed by Shisui, and the prospect of trying to prepare an entire group of medic-nins to be completely ready for duty in about three weeks, she was certainly going to snap if she didn't do something soon.

Thus her escape to the therapeutic world of beating things to a pulp.

She sighed internally. The only detrimental aspect about being in Suna so close to the jounin exams was that she didn't have Tsunade-shishou or Kaka-sensei here to help her prepare.

She could just imagine Naruto and Sasuke doing hardcore training each day with Kakashi in order to get ready. _Meanies,_ she resentfully grumbled in her head. Didn't either one of her teachers think to give her some kind of training schedule?

Oh well. She'd just have to practice on her own as much as possible, she resolved. She was pretty much a self-learner anyways, and if she wasn't almost prepared for the exams now then she never would be.

A slight breeze wafted across the grounds, stirring up the sand. Sakura, concentrating hard, channeled a minimal amount of chakra into her finger so as to counter the wind and retain her balance.

She wobbled a little on her handstand, but breathed a sigh of relief when she remained steady.

Her little meditating mantra drifted through her head as she balanced herself, echoing about. _Breathe in, breathe out, clear your mind. Breathe in, breathe out…_

Sakura could already feel the rewarding emotions of the training flooding throughout her body, her mind and soul completely at ease as she lost herself in it.

Everything around her was becoming a gentle hum of blended noise and blurred surroundings. _Aaah_, _this is how it should be_, she mused contentedly. _Uninterrupted, alone, no bakas to interrupt me, no Naruto and Sasuke bickering…_

Alas, Sakura had performed the ultimate jinx upon herself: she had spoken too soon.

"Sakura."

And just like that, her happy spell was broken, along with her concentration.

Her eyes shot open, her petite body careening towards the ground as her hold on her chakra was destroyed in a single moment.

Dammit! What was with all of these people sneaking up on her lately? First Gaara, now the bane of her existence! If she didn't watch out, the next time it would be an enemy shinobi, and she'd wind up with a kunai lodged in her somewhere!

She could already hear Tsunade-shishou lecturing her on not paying attention to her surroundings.

Before she hit the ground, Sakura was quickly wrapped in a warm set of arms, one firmly supporting her back and the other hooked under her knees.

Her breath whooshed out of her in a gasp, surprised at not landing on the ground, like she had been dreading.

Then Sakura was suddenly looking into Itachi's pale face, his features set in a semblance of amusement.

_Oh no, _she fretted as she saw who had caught her. She groaned internally. _Why _him_?_

Somewhere, she was _sure_ that she felt inner-Sakura faint in pleasure. Stupid, annoying, girly inner-Sakura.

"You need to be more aware of your surroundings, Sakura," Itachi said almost conversationally, his lips twitching in what she considered to be a rather suspicious way.

_Dammit!_ She squirmed in his arms, trying to escape from Itachi's grip, her cheeks already flaming from embarrassment.

She tried not to pay attention to how warm Itachi was, and how close they were together. And why the hell did he smell so good? She dispelled those thoughts rapidly, blaming it on training fatigue.

She turned to glare at him, her heart-shaped face screwing up in a vicious way. "Let me go, Uchiha!"

She huffed, the annoying man didn't even look fazed at her escape attempts! She twitched—the bastard wouldn't be grinning if she used her chakra strength to get out, she contemplated darkly.

One punch to his pretty-boy face, and it would all be over. Then again…Sakura wasn't sure that she was allowed to punch her captain in the face. She scowled, there went a perfectly good escape plan.

She counted to ten, trying not to lose her temper at Itachi's unruffled expression. She desperately tried to remember her resolve to not let him get the better of her anymore. To be mature, adult, not childish…

"Uchiha. Now. Before I forcefully make you," she growled out threateningly at him.

So much for not acting childish, she thought despairingly. Still, she noticed with indignation, Itachi didn't exactly look scared of her attempted intimidation. Instead, he kinda looked like he wanted to laugh…

Furious, she tried to disengage herself from his arms more, attempting to avoid kicking out like a petulant child.

Itachi, undisturbed by her struggle, merely countered calmly, "Sakura, if you continue moving, I'm going to drop you."

She almost laughed. That was supposed to be a threat?

"I'd rather be dropped than stay…" She went slightly red, cutting off her words quickly. Curse her stupid tendency to blush! She knew it made her look like a brilliantly shining tomato. Heaven knows Naruto and Sasuke had teased her about it enough for her to know it.

Of course, Itachi noticed her discomfort, and the fact that her pretty face was highlighted in a color to match her hair.

With a small smirk, he prompted, "Stay like what, Sakura?"

She turned her face to look at him. "Like—like this!" She muttered. Her stomach felt like it was hot and flip-flopping. Why couldn't Itachi just put her down? Why was he acting so—teasing?

She was feeling rather drained right now from training, and wasn't exactly up to having a battle of the wits with Itachi right now. Nor was she feeling up to trying to understand what was going through his mind at the moment.

His hold on her tightened around her marginally. She let out a soft yelp, glancing up at him hastily. She froze in her efforts to break free when she heard his voice, low toned and blasé as usual.

"Tell me, Sakura," Itachi said quietly, tilting his head downwards to look in her face, "Is it really so bad to be like this?"

His dark eyes were intently drinking in her expression, searching it thoroughly. Sakura's breath momentarily stopped, and so, she felt did her heart.

She was feeling rather panicky now. What was Itachi saying--? Was he actually…?

_I can't _think_! I'm not used to this Itachi! Why does he have to look so serious!_ She frantically spluttered in her mind.

Unbidden, his unwavering expression caused the night of their date to flash through her mind…when he had kissed her on the cheek. He had been wearing the same solemn mask then, too.

He was too confusing. Being like this with him…she sighed, her thoughts all in a jumble. Honestly, this was one of the reasons she couldn't stand the man. Every single time she was around him, she couldn't get her mind to think straight!

She didn't like hurting other people, and she had a feeling that Itachi felt something each time she tried to ignore him. But she just wasn't sure what he _wanted_, dammit! And it wasn't exactly like Sakura was the guru of relationships and guys either, thanks to her nosy teammates.

In answer to his question though, she couldn't exactly say it felt horrible, if she was being honest with herself. But that didn't mean she loved it either. And she definitely _did not love it_.

This was the person she had grown up knowing as her teammate's _brother_. Just Sasuke-kun's freakishly smart and cold older brother. The one who had been content to keep himself distanced from Sasuke and his teammates. Just when had he made the transition into someone else? Someone who felt like he wanted to…hold her? Tease her?

She avoided his gaze, her pink hair falling around her face to hide it.

An odd peace enveloped the two as Itachi held her, a silence softly descending upon them. And, oddly enough…Sakura didn't really want to break it.

But…she couldn't _stay_ like this with him, so intimately! And this was all completely wrong. This was _Itachi_ for goodness' sake! ANBU captain, Uchiha heir, someone who seemed to be really overprotective and concerned for her…almost seemed to _care_ about her…

She mentally banged the lid shut on that thought. _Stop it, Sakura_, she scolded herself. _Just stop it. Don't even consider it. Getting involved with him in any sort of way is _not_ going to end prettily. For once, don't let your stupid emotions get in the way of rational thinking! _

Her mind made up, green clashed with dark blue, and she met his eyes. Softly, she asked him, "Please, Itachi."

That ought to have been clear enough about what she wanted, Sakura fervently hoped.

His gaze broke as he blinked, his dark lashes brushing against his cheek, and he smiled slightly, taking Sakura by surprise.

He set her down in one smooth motion, and Sakura heaved a silent sigh of relief as all of her senses returned to normal, her mind quickly becoming at ease now that she wasn't in a semi-embrace with Itachi. But she did it too soon.

Itachi was still holding onto her shoulders, his eyes locked on hers as she looked at him, her whole body stiff and unsure. He leaned in quickly, placing his mouth next to Sakura's ear so she could feel the rush of warm air as he spoke.

"I won't always let you go, Sakura. Don't ever doubt that." A promise, and a threat, were in the words that slid from his lips.

Though shaken at the abrupt turn in the conversation, Sakura shivered slightly, not doubting for a second the raw meaning in his words.

Itachi withdrew silently, his hands slipping off of her body slowly, reluctantly. A few pink strands rushed against his fingers with the motion.

Sakura couldn't let him get away with the last word. She smiled dryly as she recovered herself, stepping away from him.

"But, that depends on if you can catch me when I run, Itachi," she challenged. If the bastard thought she wouldn't run from him, he was sorely mistaken.

He smirked, his eyes growing hot at her words. "Indeed, Sakura."

Sakura grew relieved when he retreated a few more paces, thinking gleefully that their odd interlude was finally over.

_Never again, _she promised herself. _This was just too…strange. If this is how it's going to be every time he comes back, I should just avoid him as much as possible._

Then a sudden thought occurred to her. _He ruined my training time! Bastard!_

And, as abruptly as it had started, Sakura was back to her former, Itachi-despising, assured self. All of her conflicted feelings were resolutely pushed to the back of her mind where, she sincerely hoped, they would stay.

"Why are you out here without Shisui or Hana?" Her head snapped up at his words.

Itachi, apparently, wasn't going anywhere, she noted.

_And_, that reminded her. She was angry with him!

One really had to marvel at the ability of Itachi and Sakura to go from romantic to outraged in only a few seconds. Or, at least, at Sakura's ability to do so.

She firmly raised her chin, refusing to sound apologetic. "I snuck out here without telling them," she said dismissively, and a little sarcastically. After all, she wasn't some helpless child. She didn't need someone to watch over her every damn step.

To her astonishment, Itachi actually looked _angry_. His eyes were dark, and he was frowning.

She started slightly at actually seeing some sort of emotion on his face.

Tersely, he told her, "Sakura, I don't want you walking around by yourself. I told Shisui and Hana to stay with you for good reason." His expression was rather stormy now.

Sakura stood her ground, her eyes gleaming in irritation. She wouldn't let him make her feel like a child who did wrong. It was his fault!

She clenched her fists. "Oh yes, I know, _Itachi_. Shisui actually told me this morning."

She paused to let that sink in. Itachi merely stood there, his frame stony and uncompromising.

" 'Itachi told us to keep an eye on you' " Sakura quoted at him sourly, her green eyes emitting sparks. " 'Some of the elders are displeased with us being here. Itachi just didn't want to worry you' ".

She wasn't even making any effort to reign in her resentment now. "So, I was wondering why you _didn't_ feel the need to inform me that my _life_ was in danger!"

He wasn't looking at her, but rather was staring off in another direction, his expression now rather cool.

That did it. She marched up to him, unconsciously reaching out to turn him towards her.

"Dammit Itachi! First you didn't tell me, and then you assign Shisui and Hana to _tail _me?" She dropped her hands, shaking her head fiercely. "I swear I don't understand you."

Itachi merely let out a soft, displeased "Hmm", and looked rather disinterested in her ire. "I see Shisui was not as discreet as I asked him to be."

Sakura had to snort at that. "Oh please. Shisui discreet? He was about as discreet as Naruto in a bright orange jumpsuit running into Ichiraku!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the comparison, his dark eyes flashing. "You would be surprised, Sakura. I can only suppose that Shisui was not really trying."

Sakura couldn't exactly agree with that, and she told him so. "Beg to differ, Uchiha. Shisui tried pretty hard, from the way he was following me around the whole damn day!"

She paused, and inhaled deeply, willing herself not to lose her temper. Which had never been something she had excelled at. Her emotions usually got the better of her, which was sometimes unfortunate in situations such as these.

"Look…Itachi. I'll say this one more time." She stared at him hard, her green eyes defiant. Speaking carefully to the apathetic man standing with a mildly interested face, she enunciated each word slowly and deliberately. "I. Can. Take. Care. Of. Myself."

"Hn."

She saw red. What the hell? "Hn"? That was all she was going to get out of him?

"Uchiha…" she snarled, her hands balling up into fists. "If you don't at least listen to me on this, I swear I'm going to hit you so hard that you're going to see your—

"Sakura—"

"Don't you have any faith in me?"

Her question was said softly, abruptly, but Itachi's keen ears heard it. His eyes widened fractionally, contradicting the detached expression on his visage.

Sakura couldn't even look at him. Stupid habit of hers of blurting things out. She hadn't meant to tell him, but it hurt like hell that he didn't trust her as a team member.

She shook her head, and swiftly turned on her heel to get away from him. If she stayed near Itachi any longer, she felt like her emotional dam was just going to burst. And she _didn't_ want to end up crying in front of Itachi.

In just the span of a few minutes, she had gone from surprised to embarrassed to confused to pissed. And somehow she didn't think it was healthy for her.

Well, since she was going with an honest policy, she may as well get it all out. "I can't do this, Itachi. You confuse me way too much—ah!"

She let out a soft yelp as Itachi's hand gently enclosed her wrist, firmly stopping her in her tracks and cutting off her furious tirade.

His face was mysteriously unreadable.

"I'm sorry."

Sakura gaped, her self-righteous anger suddenly smothered by disbelief. "What?" Had Itachi actually…apologized?

Upon seeing her flabbergasted expression, her pink lips parted in an "O" shape and her green eyes blinking rapidly, Itachi's mouth turned up slightly.

"I will not repeat myself, Sakura," he warned, smirking.

Then he relented, his hand still encasing her wrist. "I did not wish for any harm to come to you. Especially since I would not be near enough to help."

She looked down uncertainly at where his long fingers were wrapped around her hand.

For the second time today, she was suddenly reminded of their date, where he had told her she was beautiful. He had stopped in her in the same way. And, she supposed, his words now held the same honest tone that they did then.

She sighed, her eyes softening slightly. It would probably be much easier now to just let him off. She was weary of being angry at him anyways. Sometimes it seemed that was her constant mindset around him.

Itachi was still continuing on though. "As for having faith in you…you are a very able kunoichi, Sakura. And, because of that, I will make a deal with you."

She blinked at his unexpected words. A deal? She was instantly on her guard. Her deals with Itachi tended to end up with her getting the worst end.

"What sort of deal?" She questioned him cautiously, wary of his suddenly anticipatory countenance.

"Fight me."

"Eh?" Had she missed something here? "That doesn't sound like a deal to me." Why would Itachi unexpectedly want to fight her?

Itachi smirked languorously, making her stare at him.

"I said…fight me, Sakura," he repeated, his obsidian eyes betraying nothing.

She steadfastly observed him, furrowing her brows. "I don't really see how that's going to resolve anything, Itachi."

He still had that infuriating, knowing smirk on. "We'll make a bet, regarding your safety, Sakura."

She regarded him suspiciously. With this damn sneaky man, one really had to be careful, she grumbled to herself.

Well, she might as well see what the deal was going to be.

"Alright," she told him hesitantly, still examining his face for anything funny or odd. "What's this bet?"

He allowed her wrist to drop from his hold, his loose ponytail blowing around behind him in the uplifting wind. The strands of his hair not contained by his hite-ate framed his face as he bent down towards her, his body suddenly dwarfing hers.

She backed up a little nervously, her eyes warily fixed on him.

He didn't seem perturbed by her movement away from him. "You'll fight me," he told her quietly. "If you manage to land one hit, I will allow you to walk around Suna without either Hana or Shisui guarding you."

That sounded far too good to be true.

"And if I don't manage to hit you?" She asked him curiously.

"They'll continue accompanying you to your medical lessons each day, and wherever else you need to go."

She opened her mouth to reply, but Itachi beat her to it. "Furthermore, when I win, I will be training you, in lieu of the upcoming jounin exams."

Flabbergasted, she raised her eyebrows at him. "My, my Itachi, don't we sound confident. But…I don't need you to train me."

"Oh? Without Tsunade-sama or Hatake-san here, who were you planning on asking?"

Sakura was sure he was reading her mind again. Sulkily, she muttered, "I was going to just try to train myself every day."

Itachi sighed. "Sakura, the jounin exams are difficult. You will only benefit if I help you."

She bristled, beginning to reply, "I told you, I'll be fine—"

"It is not shameful to require improvement before undertaking the exams. I am sure Naruto-kun and my foolish little brother are receiving the benefit of Hatake-san's instruction now, as well."

He paused allowing that to sink into her disgruntled psyche, then continued on. "Do you wish to stay as a chunin while your team advances?"

Ouch. Now that was a painful shot. She glared slightly, and then crossed her arms. "No."

He smiled in amusement at her stubborn disposition. "Then I see no problem, Sakura."

Sakura was silent for a moment, as she considered him and his absurd request, regarding the impassive Uchiha as she weighed the pros and cons.

On one hand, there was no way in hell she was ever going to be able to touch him. It didn't take a genius to figure it out—she was a sixteen year old chunin, and he was a twenty one year old ANBU captain.

Plus, that bastard had made it so he got a better deal either way. She would _still_ have to put up with him even if she did somehow manage to get a punch or kick on him.

_Though, I probably _would_ get better from having Itachi as a teacher_, she reluctantly grumbled to herself. _Even if I do have to spend more time with him, if it helps me pass the exams. But…I don't want to fight him and get my ass kicked, darn it!_

Still…Sakura groaned to herself. The idea of getting out of being watched all the time was _extremely _tempting. And if she could duly impress him during the fight, then maybe she could escape her guard dogs.

Well, she could only give it a try. Her eyes gleamed as she looked at him. Maybe if she could get out all her stress by beating up on him now, he wouldn't affect her so much in the future.

_And Itachi would look so pretty was his face turned black and blue_, Sakura entertained the thought sadistically.

That cinched it.

She nodded once in agreement, her body tensing automatically for the fight to come. "Alright, Itachi. I'll agree to fight you. But—"

She paused, and Itachi waited expectantly, though he had a perceptive look on his face.

"—you aren't allowed to use your Sharingan. That would give you a totally unfair advantage."

Itachi laughed softly, and inclined his head in acceptance of her request. "Very well, Sakura. But I ask that you refrain from using your chakra for enhancing your attacks."

Dammit, that was her ace in the hole! She started indignantly, "I don't see why—"

"It is only fair, Sakura. Seeing as I cannot…compete with the strength you have when you use your chakra in such a way," Itachi interrupted her, raising an eyebrow as though daring her to argue.

The man had a point, she thought grumpily. Then she smiled slightly. If Itachi thought she was totally dependent upon her chakra for everything, then he was in for a big surprise.

And that meant she had a trump card. And that meant maybe she had a very, minimal, infinitely small chance of success.

She smiled sweetly at him, her eyes twinkling in anticipation. "Agreed, Itachi."

Sakura straightened her gloves out on her hands, testing them to make sure they were snugly on. After all, she didn't want them falling off while she attempted to kick her beloved captain's ass, now did she?

"Are you prepared, Sakura?" Itachi's voice drifted over to her ears.

"Yes," she replied, training her eyes on his body. Fighting with Sasuke had taught her to keep a close eye on those sneaky Uchiha--they had the tendency to play havoc with your visual perception, even without the Sharingan.

A brief smirk, and then—he disappeared.

* * *

_Nice try, Uchiha._

Prepared for that, Sakura rapidly twirled around, her eyes darting all over the landscape, assessing each object.

There wasn't much for Itachi to hide in or behind, she gathered quickly. With the exception of a few boulders or sparse trees, everything was in plain view. Which meant if he wasn't left, right, or up, he must be—

She grinned. "Found you, Itachi."

And then promptly leapt up as a hand emerged from the ground in an eruption of rocks and dirt.

Itachi's form appeared a moment later, and Sakura took advantage of the instant in which he materialized above the ground.

She catapulted towards him, a hoarse cry escaping her throat as she slammed her fist into his chest—

Only to have Itachi disappear in a puff of smoke.

She swore softly. She hadn't thought it would be that easy, so it wasn't exactly a big surprise that it was a clone.

Still, now she had to find him again. She whirled around, her body poised for any immediate attack.

There wasn't much choice for Itachi but to attack head on, due to the disadvantageous open area.

It was just a matter of waiting.

Unfortunately, Sakura wasn't the most patient person alive, something she inherited from Tsunade for sure.

She scanned the land eagerly, trying to find a trace of her captain.

Her eyes narrowed as a loud cloud of what looked like crows suddenly appeared a few yards away, swarming in a mass of black feathers and loud caws.

There was no doubt that it was a genjutsu, and that Itachi had enacted it. She didn't think that a bunch of crows would suddenly come out of nowhere in the desert.

Hmm…that was pretty quick work, she had to admit. And it was probably a fairly advanced genjutsu.

Was Itachi in there, hiding among the crows? Or was it just a distraction for her?

Either way, the crows were flying straight in her direction. They were probably going to come at her in a barrage of sharp beaks and clawed feet.

Thinking fast, she feinted slightly to the right, observing the cloud of birds.

Just as she thought, they adjusted their direction to where she was. Her hands moved rapidly as she formed the signs for a substitution jutsu, the crows approaching closer and closer to her.

If her plan worked, then whatever those animals were, they would head for the fake Sakura.

And that meant she didn't have to worry about fleeing from them.

She slipped away from where her substitute body was positioned, and, sure enough, the birds didn't notice any difference.

Unfortunately, that was when she felt the large chakra spike behind her.

_Stupid, you let yourself be distracted!_ Sakura berated herself as she skipped backwards a few steps upon seeing Itachi's blurred form coming towards her.

Okay, change of plan. Both Shikamaru and Sakura were blessed with the trait of a quick-thinking mind, which roughly translated into being able to accommodate oneself with unexpected surprises during battle.

She had to time this just right though. She tightened her fist, focusing hard on the barely visible Itachi. If she did it too soon, it wouldn't be effective in the least.

_Wait for it, wait for it…now!_ She slammed her fist into the ground right when she predicted Itachi would appear before her, throwing the entire force of her weight onto it.

She relished in the semi-surprised look on Itachi's face as the ground splintered into large craters, rocks jutting up from where she had driven her fist.

Countering her attack, Itachi smoothly gained a foothold on one of the rocks she had caused to erupt from the ground, leaping backwards from rock to rock as the ground continued to crack.

Grabbing the chance, Sakura pursued him. She was sure this was the real one.

When she reached him, Sakura immediately aimed her leg in a vicious high kick at him, which Itachi blocked effortlessly with his arm.

Their bodies were brought closer together when she threw her fist in a controlled punch at him, leading to Itachi meeting it with his hand, grabbing and enclosing it.

Her limbs shook as she was locked in a stalemate hold with Itachi, her eyes meeting his.

A corner of his mouth raised slightly. "Cheating, Sakura? I believe we agreed that you weren't to use your chakra strength."

She laughed, triumphantly saying, "I didn't."

His eyes narrowed, as he said, "Then what you did—"

He broke off as he quickly understood, his sharp mind quickly analyzing what had happened.

Sakura grinned. "Why Itachi, I never said that I needed my chakra for my strength. It just…helps it along."

And it was true. Tsunade had made sure of impressing upon her the need of not relying on her chakra. Thus, she had made sure of ruthlessly training her apprentice to the point of where she could adeptly fight and attack at a higher level than most shinobi, even without her chakra.

But, as Tsunade-shishou said, it was better to make your enemy think that you couldn't do as well if you didn't have your chakra. True, Sakura _couldn't_ hit as hard without her chakra, but she could still do pretty damn well all the same.

She wasn't prepared for the warm, impressed look that flashed into Itachi's eyes as understood what she had done with her bare hands alone.

Her breathing nearly stopped, when he started to pull her further towards himself.

She pushed back from where their limbs had been locked together, and Itachi did the same.

They separated, each retreating several paces away from the other.

She was already breathing hard, as she had tired herself out training earlier. She berated herself for getting into a fight when she wasn't up to her full strength.

Sakura steeled herself to continue. She couldn't let herself give in this early in the fight!

Quickly, she disappeared in a swirl of leaves, her transportation jutsu taking her meters away to behind a large boulder.

She leaned against it wearily, and figured that would give her a brief respite. It didn't seem like Itachi was inclined to use ninjutsu or genjutsu too much—this would probably end up as a simple taijutsu battle.

Well, at least that was her strong area. The only way she could see herself landing a hit on him was if she engaged him in a one-on-one intense spar. All she needed was for him to slip up once….

Her eyes widened as Itachi was suddenly before her, his lithe body trapping her up against the bolder and his hair flying around him as it came loose from his ponytail.

"Kai."

Wha--?

The ground went up in a blaze.

Sakura threw herself in the only direction she could as the ground and the boulders around her went up in a burst of exploding shinobi tags—forwards.

_When did he have time to put them down?_ She thought frantically. She winced as a piece of rock made contact with her cheek, blood oozing from the open wound.

Because of projecting herself forwards, it was predictable that Sakura would run into Itachi, who was directly in front of her.

He seized her arms in a firm grip, but Sakura twisted as her body collided with his, her freed hand sailing towards his neck to activate a pressure point that would render him unconscious.

Itachi, seeing what she was attempting to do, abruptly let go, causing Sakura to stumble slightly as she was released.

She panted as she regained her footing, feeling that this wouldn't be able to go on much longer.

She clenched her teeth—as she had thought, she wasn't much of a match for Itachi. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to keep trying.

She made a quick about-face, turning to where she could feel Itachi's strong chakra presence approaching her. The smoke from the tags made it difficult to see, but she sprinted to meet him anyways.

As long as she could sense his chakra, and had her sense of touch, she didn't really need her eyes anyways.

They clashed within the smoke and dust—a sensuous dance of violence that only taijutsu can appear to be.

It fell into a pattern, with one shinobi attacking and the other defending. Attacking, defending. Punch, block. Kick, block.

Sakura could already feel her rapid barrage of attacks slowing down as her limbs grew even wearier, and the smoke made her light-headed. Itachi was impossibly fast, and it was only years of fighting with both Lee and Naruto's insanely quick styles that allowed her to keep up.

Still she continued, her eyes finding Itachi's somewhere in the haze and never leaving them while they sparred.

She shook off her exhaustion, as well as the darkness that kept invading her vision.

She wouldn't let him win. Couldn't.

The blackness was getting stronger now, infiltrating her mind as well as her eyes now. Itachi's form was blurring in a peculiar manner, his clothing mixing into the background in an odd way as her sight swam from exhaustion and threatened to overtake her with unconsciousness.

_Don't give in!_

She let out a low oath, fighting herself as well as Itachi, but failing miserably. Her traitorous feet were beginning to give way, her motions growing clumsy. Oddly enough, she could hear Tsunade's voice floating around in her head, it's irritated, lecturing tone one of familiarity. _"Chakra exhaustion, Sakura. It's stupid. Dangerous. Don't let it happen." _

_Sorry, Shishou,_ she thought faintly as she stumbled again.

_Guess I was stupid..._

* * *

Itachi immediately stopped in his movements when he saw Sakura's eyes slide shut, and her stagger on her feet.

He swore lowly as he caught her before she fell, then escaped from the smoky air around them in a few quick strides.

He wasn't overtly worried—a quick check told him she was only unconscious. He sighed, brushing her hair from her sweaty, flushed face. Some of the blood dripping off her cheek stained his fingers with a crimson color.

He stared at it idly for a moment.

He had hoped at some point she would simply give up—it had been apparent even before they had started that she had been tired, most likely suffering from a depletion of chakra from the demands that her work required of her.

He smiled wryly. He should have known that she would never have. It didn't seem to be in Sakura's nature to give up when she was determined to achieve something.

Though, he had been impressed at her ability to keep up with him during their fight, however brief it had been.

His eyes drifted down to where her hands rested by her side, disturbed only by the rise and fall of her body caused by her breathing.

They looked so deceptively small, but they held unlimited strength.

His gaze darkened at the memory of her smashing the ground to bits with only her raw power at her command. A truly…interesting ability.

Itachi continued to look at her, though his thoughts were far away from where he was. It was…discomforting, to say the least. Itachi wasn't used to being so enthralled with anyone. So captivated by one single entity, or intrigued beyond all rational reason.

To someone who had never lacked for anything in his life, who had been forced to undergo the same routine day by day, it wasn't so surprising to Itachi that this little, pink-haired kunoichi would be something of a conundrum, of a mystery, to him.

How he had ever not seen her before, for who she truly was, was a puzzle to him.

But Itachi did not repeat his mistakes, and he certainly had no intention of ever letting her escape from him. Not until he found out what made her so unique from others, at least in his eyes.

And he was perfectly content to discover who she was further in Suna, without the added distraction of her protective teammates to hinder him.

Sakura, no matter how much she fought and yelled, would not ever slip from his grasp while he was still alive to do something about it.

The only thing he could say was that fate was not without a sense of humor. That he would become so deeply involved with a willful young girl who had broken into his room…well, surely stranger things had occurred.

Shaking his head slightly, Itachi scooped up Sakura (undoubtedly, she would be furious that she had ended up in his arms for the second time that day, had she been conscious) and vanished with the next wind that blew across the land.

* * *

Hana snorted as she watched Itachi frighten Haruno while she was training. Beside her, on the overhanging cliff she was perched on, was Hachiko, contently curled up on the ground.

Really, those two were the most baka and weirdest couple Hana had ever seen. And she had seen some pretty weird couples in her time.

"Yo, Hana."

She didn't even spare a glance at Shisui as he walked up, merely kept watching Itachi and Sakura.

"Ain't cha even going to say hello, dog-girl?" Shisui plopped down next to her, holding something in his hands.

"Yes, yes, hey. Hello. Whatever," Hana muttered, not looking at him. Hachiko let out a bark of laughter at her master's distracted aura.

The black-haired man sighed, and tried to see what Hana was so keen on watching. "What's so interest—oh."

He smirked. "I never took you for a voyeur, Hana."

"Oh please. If Itachi and Haruno actually do anything worthy of voyeurism down there, I'll be the first to believe the apocalypse is here. This is our emotionally constipated teammate down there, remember?"

"Good point."

They were both silent as Itachi caught Sakura from falling, a rather teasing expression on his face. Shisui shook his head at his cousin. It was kinda unsettling to actually see Itachi interested in a girl.

The last time he had seen Itachi actually pay specific attention to something, it was a skilled enemy shinobi, and the person had ended up dead. In a way, he sort of pitied Sakura for catching Itachi's attention. Poor girl was probably in for a long, hard ride.

Hana caught him shaking his head. "What is it?"

"Nothing. It's just…I hope Itachi knows what he's doing."

Hana let out a loud laugh. "Since when does he _not_?"

There seemed to be some sort of tender moment going on between the two down in the training areas. Hana let out a quiet whistle. "Poor Haruno. Being exposed to Itachi's forceful personality like that."

Shisui looked irritated. "Hana, try to focus on the subject. I'm just saying, I don't think Itachi's really considering what he's doing."

Hana rolled her eyes at him. "Shisui no baka, this is _Itachi_ we're talking about. Ya know, the guy who usually has the next fifty steps planned out during a shogi game? The man who always knows what the enemy is going to do before he even does it?" She looked down at what Shisui was holding. "What's that?"

"Some weird kind of Suna juice." He shrugged. "Some old lady at the hotel kept trying to make me try some. And I'm thirsty. Want any?"

Hana grinned, showing off her fangs. "Shisui, sometimes I'm amazed at the level of your stupidity. You accepted something from a Suna lady. The same people who pretty much hate Konoha's guts and probably wouldn't hesitate in poisoning our asses?"

"What the hell, Hana, it was this ninety year old lady! I don't think sweet old grandmas go around trying to off people!"

She swiped the flask of juice from Shisui, ignoring his protests, and uncorked it. She sniffed it delicately, careful not to inhale too much of the fumes.

She immediately made a face.

"What?"

She didn't say anything only got up and walked over to a group of small desert shrubs.

"Hey, Hana, what're ya doing?"

Hana poured the flask of Suna juice onto the shrubs. They immediately burst into flame, shriveled up, and lay on the ground lifeless.

Shisui, for his part, did not say anything as Hana tossed the now empty flask aside and sat down again. He only looked very, very pale.

Hana smirked. "I expect you'll be more careful of ninety year old ladies now, won't cha?"

Shisui nodded weakly, rather upset that his view of old ladies had been so severely disrupted.

He cleared his throat, deciding not to dwell on the matter anymore. It was safer to just think about Itachi and Sakura anyways.

"So, back to Itachi and Sakura…"

"Oh look," Hana pointed out. Itachi and Sakura looked like they were having some sort of fight. "Damn, Itachi looks kinda pissed. Huh. Sakura doesn't look too happy either. Wonder what pinkie said to him."

"No idea. It's probably because we weren't out there with her."

"Were we supposed to be? I thought the girl deserved _some_ privacy at least. Surely she doesn't need us hanging about her all day."

"I don't think that's how Itachi saw it."

"Oh," Hana rubbed her face wearily. "Maybe someone should tell him being overprotective isn't the way to woo a girl."

"What the--? Now they're actually fighting!"

"Arguing?"

"No, I mean like trying to kick each other's asses."

Hana glanced over at Shisui worriedly. "Do you think we should…"

Shisui shrugged. "Nah, I don't think they'll actually kill each other. Though it looks like Sakura-chan's actually putting up a good fight."

They sat there in companionable silence for another minute or so before, watching Itachi and Sakura beat each other up.

Shisui stood up, and looked down at his teammate. "I'm leaving. I don't want to be around when Itachi catches us spying on him like this." He stretched, yawning as he looked up at the sky. "Plus, I think he's already going to be pissed at us for not being with Sakura. You coming?"

Hana considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. C'mon Hachiko."

As they left, a stream of smoke drifted into the sky as Itachi and Sakura's battle continued on.

* * *

Hana looked up, unperturbed, as an irate pink-haired kunoichi stomped into her hotel room. Hachiko, who had been snoozing on the floor, opened an eye lazily as the door slammed open.

Sakura, for her part, was ragged-looking. Her hair was mussed, a healing cut on her cheek, and she smelled like a barbeque gone wrong.

Sakura twitched when Hana said as much to her, and muttered something about finding Itachi and killing him later.

"Did you need something, Haruno?"

Sakura sighed, and looked almost pitiful enough that Hana felt sorry for the girl. "Do you have any towels, Hana-san? My hotel room's all out. And I _really_ need to shower."

Hana shrugged, and got up from where she had been sitting. "Sure."

She snagged a few fluffy towels from the bathroom, and walked back into her living room to hand them to Sakura. As she did so, she asked, "Did you get in a fight with a fire or something, Haruno? Because, ya kinda smell like a—"

"I know," Sakura cut her off grumpily. "Actually, I got in a fight with Itachi. And he seemed to think it would be fun to set everything around me on fire with exploding tags."

Hana tried unsuccessfully to hide her grin. "Ah, that's too bad."

Having found a sympathetic ear, Sakura looked pleadingly at Hana. "And now he's roped me into training with him!"

Hana nodded sympathetically. "Sounds tough."

She agreed quickly, "I know! Hana-san, you've been his teammate, do you think you could talk him out of it?"

Hana laughed inside her head. Poor pinkie really didn't like Itachi. "Sakura, the only thing I can do is give you this piece of advice."

Sakura was paying rapt attention to her senpai. "Yes?"

"The sooner you hook up with Itachi, the more enjoyable those training sessions will be."

From the hotel lobby, everyone looked up as a horrified scream echoed throughout the building.

* * *

**First, thank you all so so so so so so so much for your support. I love seeing that people like this story ^_^. And, for everyone who wanted Itachi to show up, here he is, along with lots of ItaSaku goodness! (Okay, so I wanted to see some ItaSaku as well :P ) I guess the next is to apologize to everyone for taking weeks to get this written. Blame it on school. But thankfully thanksgiving break is coming up, so lots of writing can be done then!**

**SPOILER ALERT: By the way, what did everyone think about the whole Naruto/Sakura part in the manga? I was just curious :-)**

**I appreciate constructive criticism, helpful tips, or just plain ol' happy comments, so please leave a review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Hahaha, if you ever saw my drawing talent, you'd understand why I could never ever ever be the creator of Naruto XD.**

* * *

The walls of the unusually spacious meeting room of the hospital were stark white and clean of any irregularities. The wide, stretching floor was tiled for practicality, and the high, domed ceiling had windows allowing the afternoon sun to seep into the room. All in all, it was a rather pleasant, if a little dull, room. The only thing detracting from it now was the outrageous amount of noise bouncing off the walls and into the ears of one very irritated pinkette.

Sakura's eye gave a subtle twitch—only those well attuned to her little ways of showing aggravation would have caught it (meaning, Naruto, Kakashi, or Sasuke, who were subjected to her irritation several times a week).

Alas, the Suna med-nins who were subject to her wrath right now were not so wise as to pick up on her currently annoyed mood. In other words, they didn't know when to shut up and sit down. And, at this point, they would have been very smart to do so. Because slowly but surely, Sakura was reaching her breaking point.

"Haruno-sensei, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by—"

"Sensei, there isn't much of a point—"

"In a real battle situation there's no way we'd be able to—"

"Sensei—"

"Do you know how many there _are_—"

"Haruno-san—"

The barrage of voices kept continuing on and on. She rubbed the bridge of her nose wearily, trying to block out the migraine she was sure would be coming in any second. And it was sure to be a humongous one too.

Ugh. This was only her fourth day here, and already she was being questioned by her supposed students. Sometimes she really hated being a short, teenage, pink-haired girl—it tended to undermine any authority she might have. And no matter how mean she tried to look, it just didn't work! Sakura huffed a little, making a mental note to practice her scowling and threatening looks in the mirror later.

It wasn't so bad in Konoha, because at least everyone there knew not to annoy the apprentice of the Godaime Hokage who had inherited her super strength. Or else you might just find yourself soaring a few hundred feet through the air and into a tree. Hell, even _Jiraiya_ was wise to the fact that Sakura wasn't someone you wanted catching you peeking in the women's bathhouse. Unfortunately, in Suna she was just a tiny kunoichi from a hated village.

Yeah. Really didn't do much for her position as a teacher.

The noise was still continuing, much to Sakura's consternation. If this went on much longer, she could practically _feel_ the stress wrinkles that would form on her giant forehead. She snorted just imagining it: her already large forehead drooping from the gross, wrinkly skin on it. Then again, maybe it'd be a turn off for Itachi. Maybe he'd be so disgusted by her droopy head, he'd cancel their training lessons! She contemplated that for a second, then unhappily threw out the idea. There was no way she was disfiguring herself just to get rid of a guy. That was what she had Naruto and Sasuke for, at any rate.

The noise in the room rose a few decibels as the complaints and shouted questions grew louder and louder.

_And honestly, what is this lot whining about_? She scowled to herself. All she had suggested was that they start learning about poisons over the next few days. After all, drawing out poisons and creating antidotes was one of the most crucial abilities of a medic-nin.

Yes, it was extremely difficult to learn, especially in the course of only a couple of days, but it wasn't _impossible._

Sakura herself had been educated about poisons and expelling them from the body in the matter of only a few _hours_. She cringed in remembrance of the incident, as Tsunade-shishou had felt the lesson would be best learned from a hands on experience. Thus, Sakura had essentially been poisoned and told to get rid of it from her body as quickly as possible. Luckily, Sakura thought, Shizune-nee-san had been there just in case.

However, despite the utter temptation of poisoning this irksome class, Sakura somehow didn't think that Gaara would be too pleased if all of his medics suddenly kicked the bucket.

Breaking free of her thoughts to focus on her protesting class, Sakura decided that enough was enough.

She took a deep breath, trying to gather her courage. If she allowed this group to walk all over her, she'd never earn their respect or right as their teacher. And if a student didn't have any respect for the teacher, that made it difficult to actually instruct them on anything. Goodness knows she, Sasuke-kun, and Naruto had lost most of their childish respect for their sensei _years_ ago. Not to say that they didn't love him dearly, but much of the glamour and awe of having the renowned Copy-Nin as a teacher had evaporated upon learning what a smut-reading, constantly late, completely lazy man he was…

But she wouldn't let that happen to her. Dammit, she was going to show these pricks that hair color didn't matter, just how well your fists worked did! It was time to use Tsunade's time-old tried and proven teaching method: intimidation. Both Shizune and Sakura were living testaments to the fact that harsh and straightforward methods _did_ provide results. Basically, Tsunade's policy was that what didn't totally kill you off just made you a hell of a lot stronger.

With that encouraging thought in mind, she crinkled her eyes and mouth into a deceptively sweet smile, and slammed her hand onto the table that was sitting innocently in front of her.

An earsplitting crack resounded throughout the room, and everyone instantly grew quiet, their attention riveted on the large crevice now marring the table in front of Sakura.

_Ah, bliss,_ Sakura hummed contently in her aching brain. Her eyes swept over her now complacent students.

Still smiling in a placating way, she said in a soft voice, "I understand your protests. It _is_ one of the most difficult parts of a shinobi's medical studies. But," she turned to one of the students she had heard disagreeing, "it is far from useless, and may very well save the life of a teammate during combat."

The student, a chunin, blushed at being directly called out by Sakura.

Sparing him from being the center of attention, she directed her gaze at a jounin. "Yes, Hiro-san, I _am_ aware of how many poisons there are. In fact, I can name you right off the top of my head the deadliest 200 poisons and their antidotes."

Mercilessly, she turned to another, her normally sweet self being slowly replaced by the more aggressive one of Inner Sakura. "I believe _you_ said that it would be impossible to utilize poison knowledge during a battle? Think again. There are many shinobi, both renegade and employed by villages, that are poisons experts." Well, actually, most of the poisons experts were really in Sand and Grass, but she didn't actually have to _say_ that. Better to instill the fear in them that they could potentially meet a poison-using shinobi anywhere.

To prove her point, she slipped her hand into her back pouch, withdrawing Konoha's bingo book, the one issued to every shinobi of chunin rank and above. It was slightly worn and frayed around the edges, and the pages were crinkled from having been looked at so much. Sakura made it a point to never go anywhere without it.

Leisurely, almost as though daring anyone in her now silent class to disagree, she flipped it open. Each precise movement of hers only served to heighten the awed tension lingering within the class's atmosphere.

Her notice was captured by one of the names. She read aloud, clearly and directly, "Karo Akane. A-Rank missing-nin from Grass." She looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Specializes in…oh my, _poisons_. Still at large."

Keeping her eyes locked on the class, she turned another few pages before glancing down again. "Juro Makato. S-Rank Missing-nin from Stone. What do you know? Another poisons expert."

Just for spite (Sakura reluctantly admitted it was childish, but it really rankled that the medic-nins that were supposed to be her _students_ were being such complete jerks in questioning her), she read aloud a name of a missing-nin from Suna.

"Akasuna no Sasori. S-Rank missing-nin. Background in lethal concoctions and puppeteer-related jutsu. Whereabouts unknown."

Her gaze lingered for a long moment on the name—it was not accompanied by a picture of any sorts, unlike most of the other missing-nins listed. Huh. How odd. Usually the S-Ranked missing-nins had a picture or sketch so as to facilitate identifying them. She shivered slightly at the ominous blank space in the bingo book, then hastily shook her head at her foolishness. Now wasn't the time to be worrying about far away missing-nins.

She brushed off the oddity, and with a quick snap, she closed the bingo book and stowed it away. She returned her attention to the room.

"I know if it were me, I certainly wouldn't want to fight any of these guys without some way to counter them. And what better way than fighting fire with fire? Poison with antidote?" She stopped for a second, allowing it to sink in.

Calmly, she began again. "Now, I'll say it again. For the next few classes, we will be thoroughly examining and practicing poison extraction and antidote creation." She met the eyes of her students. "Any complaints?"

Happily, she noted, everyone seemed more compliant. Some looked a little mutinous, but no directly complained about it. There were a few nods and muttered agreements as well. Some of the older medic-nins in the room seemed a little amused at her take-charge attitude, while most of the chunins looked like they were ready to run out of the room. She smirked. It seemed she had effectively driven the point home.

She snorted softly. Shishou would be so proud of her ability to cow a bunch of misbehaving medics into complete submission.

Hurriedly, in preparation of what she was going to say, she ran over her plans for the week in her head. Sakura had made sure to devise a schedule as to what she was going to teach, because she didn't exactly fancy Tsunade's method of teaching. Sometimes she really suspected that her Shishou just made up training exercises off the top of her head when the lesson began.

Yesterday, after her…ill-fated run in with Itachi (she still couldn't think about it without wanting to punch something into dust) she had lectured the med-nins about pressure points. Sadly, though it was supposed to be rudimentary knowledge for medics, there were many who were still rather ignorant about the relaxing, healing, and offensive properties of each specific point on the human body.

So they had spent all day going over that.

Now, however…she surveyed the class, contemplating on what to do. _Mmm…maybe I should just have them practice the whole pressure points thing first, just to make sure they have it. Don't want them killing anyone by accident if they're just trying to disable them. Then…I should probably start them on chakra control exercises so they can learn how to heal more efficiently. Most of them are using way too much chakra for simple healings. Next class'll be poisons. Yeah, good plan._

Mentally patting herself on the back for her lesson plans, she nodded to herself in satisfaction and then began issuing her orders. "Alright, here's what we'll do. I want everyone to just get with a partner, and practice naming the spots of the main pressure points on the body, and what they do." She shot a warning look at them all. "And _don't_ actually hit the points, I don't feel like having anyone go unconscious today." She shuddered a little—last class there had been some…mishaps with the pressure point exercise. In short, there had been unconscious medics everywhere. Bodies had been toppling to the floor like dominos.

Sakura successfully hid a grin as the seventy or so medic nins rapidly arranged themselves into pairs, where they immediately started practicing on their given assignment. It was still so weird to have people actually follow her orders, and somehow she could just envision Naruto laughing his head off at her official "teacher" voice. Baka.

She leaned against a wall of the meeting room, and chanced a glance at the clock on the wall. She barely bit back a moan when she saw that she still had four hours left to go until it was five o'clock. Was time conspiring against her? She eyed the clock suspiciously. Sometimes it seemed to be so. Why else would the time be going _that_ slowly, if not to spite her?

Her stomach was already reminding her that it hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, if the loud, protesting sounds emitting from it were any indication. A soft little breath escaped from her lips. Mentally reminding herself that this was her duty, and she had never failed a mission yet, she plastered as pleasant a look on her face as she could manage.

She looked out over the room, where she already saw one medic falling onto the floor from where their partner had obviously hit an incorrect pressure point.

Praying for patience, and with the pessimistically cheering idea of only four more hours to go, she pushed off the wall and went to observe the practice.

* * *

"Haruno-san!"

The voice echoed around the empty halls connecting the main hospital building to the side conference rooms where Sakura's class had just ended. Sakura, who had been trying valiantly to make a quick escape and avoid the withering and grumpy looks of her chastised students, swore silently as her getaway was unexpectedly stopped. She looked down mournfully at her rumbling stomach with a little sigh, already apologizing to it for having to make it wait a while longer to get food.

She slowly turned around, looking to find just who had called out her name (thus keeping her from the hot bowl of ramen she had decided to go hunting for).

The only person she saw running towards her was Takano-san, the medical director at the hospital, his handsome, sun-browned face set in his usual easy smile. She studied him as he approached her, confused and wondering what on earth he wanted her for. Truthfully, she didn't know the man very well yet—she hadn't really spoken with him since their first meeting a few days ago, after all. A tiny grin graced her pixie-like face as he came closer and closer to where she was. Her hunger was mostly forgotten for the moment, in light of the promise of entertaining company. He _seemed_ to be a nice guy, and she wasn't wholly unopposed to talking to him and getting to know him more.

Quickly, she corrected her thoughts, though it didn't help that inner-Sakura was currently having a drool fest over the 'smoking hot chunk of Suna meat' (sometimes Sakura seriously questioned the sanity and possibly erratic hormone level of her alternate self). _It's just that he's a fellow med-nin, and it's always worthwhile to get their opinion on techniques and whatnot. Plus, I can actually have some intelligent conversation for once. Nothing more, nothing less. It's not like I…think he's attractive, or anything!_ _Well…okay, so anyone with eyes would see that he's good looking, but that's not why I want to get to know him, darn it!_

Her professional outlook on him nearly melted when she caught another good look at him. His long brown hair was loose and falling down his back today, giving him a particularly appealing air of messiness, and Takano-san brushed his wavy bangs back from his eyes slightly as he stopped in front of her.

She smiled at him in her trademark Sakura way: sweet and guileless, catching the man off guard. Sakura's honest, expressive face never left anyone in doubt of the earnestness of her words and emotions. It was a face that had yet to fail to get her anything she wanted, and which enabled her to utterly enchant (albeit unknowingly) either teacher or comrade. Had Naruto and Sasuke been there, they would have undoubtedly yelled at her for her "stupid, innocent, cute face that bastards'll take advantage of" (their words, not hers).

"Hello, Takano-san." She stopped for a moment, then hesitantly asked, "Did you want me for something?" _Please, please, please make this quick. My poor stomach's going to shrivel up and die any second now,_ she mentally moaned, though no sign of her inner turmoil encroached upon her pleased manner.

"I just wanted to say hello, see how you were," he said nonchalantly, smiling at her. "I keep reminding myself I need to speak with you, but you always seem to disappear from the hospital each day."

She fiddled with her fingers, sourly thinking of the reason of just _why_ she ran off from the hospital each day right after her lessons. Who wanted to be surrounded by a bunch of angry Suna medics anyways? There was absolutely _no _reason why she would stay a minute more than was needed. Outwardly, though, she apologized, "I'm sorry, Takano-san. It's just that I like to spend time with my teammates…and training as well. I—I'm taking the jounin exams in two weeks, so I need all the time I can get."

He nodded in understanding, genially waving his hand as though to brush away her apology. "Don't worry, Haruno-san, I understand completely." He smiled at her after a moment, asking, "So you're taking the jounin exams?"

"Mm," she mumbled, trying not to think of it. The topic of the jounin exams were unpleasantly connected to the lessons she was now going to have with Itachi, and she _really_ didn't want to contemplate anything connected with that manipulating, conniving, sneaky Uchiha right now. She tended to go into an extensive use of insulting adjectives when thinking about Itachi, which was a complete waste of time for her mind. Belatedly, she realized that Takano-san was still talking.

"I might be there as well, as part of the Suna delegation that's traveling with Kazekage-sama and the chunins," he absentmindedly mentioned. "I'm still not sure though. It depends on how much I have to do here."

She blinked, coming out of her thoughts, and quickly saying, "You should come, Takano-san! I think you'd really like Konoha." She wistfully thought of her home, at the same time laughing at herself for her little bit of homesickness. She hadn't even been gone that long yet! "It's beautiful, especially at this time of the year! The trees are really nice when they turn different colors, and the weather's cool, and there isn't any stupid sand or heat—"

She squeaked, cutting off her ramble. She had let her mouth run away with her again! And she had managed to insult Suna somehow, she bemoaned in her head. What a way to put your foot in your mouth. Darn these accursed politics. Rapidly, she told him, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—I mean, Suna's nice too, but—"

He laughed, his brown eyes warming as he regarded her. "It's fine, there's nothing wrong with giving your honest opinion."

She ruefully grinned at that, green eyes twinkling. "Sometimes I think I'm _too_ honest, Takano-san." A truer statement was never spoken, Sakura realized. She _did_ have the most annoying habit of being a bad liar, something that wasn't exactly helpful when your profession dealt with secrecy on a regular basis. Well, at least she wasn't quite as bad at lying as Naruto, she comforted herself. Her fox brother couldn't help himself from blurting out everything and anything that came to mind without editing it.

"That's never a bad thing," Takano commented, "and you're right. It does sound quite beautiful in Konoha. I get rather tired of all the sand and hot weather as well, Haruno-san."

She felt more at ease now, enough to lightly tease him, "And here I thought it was just me! I can't imagine what it must be like to live here all the time!" A small giggle of mirth escaped from her rosy lips, eliciting a similar response from her companion.

"It _is_ trying, I will tell you that. Sand always seems to get into the oddest of places." Then Takano's visage adopted a more mischievous aura as he surveyed her. "But here you've sidetracked me from my original purpose."

"I thought you just wanted to say hello?"

"That and I had a question I wanted to ask you."

Sakura shrugged. "Yes?"

She scanned his face, trying to anticipate what he was going to ask. His expression eerily reminded her of Itachi's I-always-know-everything-that-goes-on-inside-your-head look, and made her instantly uncomfortable. _Anything_ that reminded her of that annoying man made her uncomfortable, she grumbled to herself.

"How did lessons go today?" The inquiry was made with a rather bantering tone on his part, leaving Sakura in no doubt that he had heard what had happened. Her face instantly went a bright red, as his countenance was far too innocent for the question to be meant honestly.

She rubbed her arm in a nervous gesture, muttering in all of her sixteen-year-old awkwardness, "Oh. I…guess you heard." Her hands moved down to her skirt, playing with the edge of it in order to avoid looking at him. Her green eyes widened—maybe she'd been too hard on the class and he was ticked about it. But he hadn't seemed too mad from the way they had been getting along a moment earlier. But still…maybe he was just doing a really good job at hiding how infuriated he was.

_Sakura you idiot! Shishou promised you graveyard shifts __forever__ if you mess this up! _Long nights of little sleep and healing and surgery and paperwork……..the thought was enough to scare even the bravest medic.

Her self-chastisement didn't do much to quell her panic, however, and she quickly opened her mouth to gabble out some sort of half-hearted apology.

To her utmost relief, though, Takano was laughing again. "I passed a few of the medics in the hall a little while ago. They were all complaining about the—what was it—'pink-haired demon', I believe." He paused, his eyes taking in her indignant features.

'_Pink-haired demon' eh? Childish, stupid, jerky, Sand idiots! I'll get them back for—_

"But I think it's a good idea to start teaching them about poisons," he interrupted her dark thoughts, his expression alight with amusement as though he knew what she had been thinking.

Sakura allowed the tension to slide out of her in waves as she heard his words, gleeful that she wasn't going to be kicked back to Konoha for making a mistake. What had she been thinking anyways? Takano-san didn't seem like the type of person to get mad over a few grumpy students. She shuddered a little though, she'd have to be more careful from now on, in case she ever accidentally upset the higher ups.

She looked up at him gratefully. "Thank you, Takano-san, it's just that even though they're difficult, I really wanted to start teaching poisons as soon as—"

_Brrrrrrrrm. _The conversation was interrupted by a resounding rumble emitting from Sakura's stomach, causing both participants to simultaneously look down at it. Sakura immediately flushed, clasping her hands in a quick gesture over her stomach. Stupid stomach! She stared down at it resentfully.

Laughing weakly, she said, "Sorry, I haven't really eaten for a while so—"

She was interrupted once again, but this time it was by Takano-san. "No, no, it's my fault Haruno-san, I've kept you here way past dinner time." She couldn't help but smile at his apologetic tone. "I'm afraid I was getting lost in the enjoyment of speaking to you."

_Cha! Hot, gentlemanly, and totally mature! I say we lure him off to a dark corner somewhere and jump his bones, Sakura!_ Scowling inwardly at Inner Sakura's impromptu words, and wondering at the fickleness of her inner self (wasn't it only a little while ago that she had been mooning over Itachi?) Sakura shoved aside the ridiculous thought.

She was brought back to reality when she felt a gentle hand enclose around her elbow. "Since I'm the one who stopped your stomach from getting food gratification, how about I treat you, Haruno-san?"

Her eyes widened. Eh? She glanced up at him with a touch of nervousness. Wait…this wasn't anything like a date was it? Did having a casual dinner with someone actually constitute as a date? Sakura felt her stomach sink down low into her body for some reason, though she couldn't figure out why. Takano-san was nice, and she really did like him, but…something just felt off at his offer. And for some maddening reason, Itachi kept popping into her head!

She thoroughly examined Takano-san's patiently waiting face, relieved when she saw nothing more than a polite friendliness written on its planes. Oh. He just meant dinner as colleagues, nothing more. Colleagues and friends she could do…but nothing else. Exasperated with her suspicious mind, she berated herself for reading far too much into things, as usual.

_Stupid tendency to over-think things._ She sighed—she really had to get more experience in the ways of men, for it was pretty bad when she could misconstrue the most innocent of suggestions.

It was, perhaps, fortunate, that Sakura was not a mind reader at that moment, for then she would have known that the suggestion was not as innocent as she thought it to be. For most of her life she had been heavily sheltered from the male species in the aspects of romantic contact, thanks to the combined efforts of Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi. That being said, she didn't exactly know how sweetly attractive she was to most men, with her lively green eyes, her uniquely colored hair, and her amiable personality. After all, who was really daring enough to ask the pink-haired beauty on a date when she had three dangerous-looking guys lurking behind her, twirling kunai on their fingers in a deceptively careless way?

However, it seemed, in Suna, where she was far away from the clutches of her three over-protective guard dogs, she was fair game for the men. Alas, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi had never exactly foreseen a situation where they wouldn't be able to frighten off any potential suitors, hence her complete obliviousness to being asked on what was, essentially, a date.

In response to Takano-san's request, Sakura bobbed her head with a cheerful, "Sure", her mind only occupied now with the thought of filling her stomach with as much food as she could.

The two walked out of the hospital complex, their conversation continuing easily and fluently. Outside, the sun was already setting, sinking behind the various buildings and streaking the sky with bright colors. Thankfully, Sakura noted, the weather was getting less hot as well with the coming darkness.

She turned to ask Takano a question when they passed through the gates leading into the medical area, but stopped before the words left her mouth. She was suddenly aware that her companion's attentions weren't focused on her anymore. Rather, he was staring at something behind her, his eyebrow quirked. What was he staring at?

Confused, Sakura glanced over her shoulder, then forcibly restrained herself from recoiling at what she saw there.

_Dammit, dammit, dammit!_ Somewhere in the back of her head Sakura made a mental note to practice regulating her foul language sometime.

It was exactly who she didn't want to see at that moment. But there he was anyways, leaning carelessly against a wall of a building, his dark eyes piercing the couple in front of him. His patrician features were expressionless, his black bangs falling around his face in an elegantly haphazard way.

He was attracting a lot of attention, she noticed with a little displeasure, particularly from the passing girls on the street. She scowled, what was so interesting about Itachi anyways? He was just…Itachi. _You forgot to mention good-looking, angelic, and tasty beyond belief_, Inner Sakura chimed in smugly, leaving Sakura once again to wonder at her promiscuous inner self's way of seeing things.

Sakura slowly raised her eyes to meet his, and then shivered—for a brief second there she could have sworn that she had caught a blinding flash of crimson illuminate his eyes. It was a familiar crimson, one she had seen many times highlighting Sasuke's eyes during battle. But why would Itachi have had the Sharingan on?

Looking at him, she saw his gaze move unhurriedly from her face and down to where Takano-san was still holding her arm.

She frantically looked away, trying to find an escape as Itachi leisurely left his position near the wall, his focus clearly fixed on Takano-san and her as he moved towards them. She swallowed—why did she get the feeling that there was something extremely dangerous in the way he was walking? It was like he was a coiled spring, ready to let loose and attack at any moment.

Then Sakura paused in her search for a way to flee, taking a second peek at his face. Itachi, to her, looked almost…angry? Her brows furrowed. Was that the right word for it? After all, he was wearing the same expression she had seen on it yesterday at the training grounds, when he had demanded to know why she was there alone.

To an outsider, Sakura mused, it would seem that the handsome Uchiha's face was devoid of emotion, and completely blank. Unfortunately, though, Sakura didn't have the pleasure of such blessed ignorance. She had been around him so much lately, she was becoming rather attuned to the nuances of his features. And she just _knew_ that something was, without a doubt, making him irritable.

Paying close attention, she observed that his eyes were now staring flatly at Takano-san, and Sakura became uncomfortably aware of the hint of a smirk playing about his mouth before it disappeared.

Uh-oh. This couldn't bode well for her. Especially not when Itachi looked like _that_. Hurriedly, she turned back to Takano, sweetly enumerating, "Well, I'm famished, Takano-san! Let's go!" She attempted to subtly reach out and pull him the opposite direction of where they were facing, _far away_ from Itachi. However, she had no such luck. As usual.

To her displeasure, he resisted her pleas, mentioning in bemusement, "Isn't that your captain, Haruno-san?"

She fought the urge to roll her eyes at that. Captain? More like Uchiha stalker.

"Yes, yes…but he probably doesn't have anything to say to me," she spluttered. Crap, he was getting closer!

Chocolate brown eyes examined her face in puzzlement. "I don't think your captain would take kindly to being ignored."

"It's fine! Trust me, the man has no emotional capacity for--!" She yelped as she was abruptly pulled from Takano-san, her back colliding with a firm, solid chest and someone's warm hands resting gently on her arm and waist.

His voice floated around her, almost comforting in its usual low, rich tones. "Sorry, I'm late, Sa-ku-ra."

She twitched as she heard his stupid, smug voice, wishing she could punch him and realizing that for the second time in two days, she was wrapped in his arms. Just how did she keep on getting there anyways? She went still when she felt Itachi lean down, his hair caressing her face as he brought his head near to hers. She didn't move for fear of bringing him even closer to her, but shivered when he said softly, his breath stirring the fine hairs on the back of her neck, "I won't be so again."

Sakura, for a moment, forgot where she was, fighting to frantically regain control of her senses. He was so close and warm and—she couldn't ever remember being so near to someone of the opposite sex, excluding her friends and father. Little sparks of heat were all over her skin, and especially where Itachi was holding her. She gulped, ignoring the…weird sensations rocketing across her body.

And it didn't feel good. Not at all. Briefly, she wondered just _why_ she always felt nervous when Itachi touched her. After all, she hadn't felt like this when Takano-san had been escorting her out, and holding her arm. They were both men, so it didn't make sense! Hell, it wasn't like this when Sasuke-kun or Naruto hugged her either!

Just what did Itachi think he was _doing?_! Trying to put a damper on the hot rush of embarrassment and anger coursing through her body, and reminding herself not to make a scene in the middle of the street by attempting to murder her captain, she retorted dryly, "I wasn't exactly at a loss for company." She squirmed a little to see if she could get away, but found herself pretty well trapped where she was. Besides, that only seemed to bring her even further into Itachi's hold.

"Aa." Her words seemed to annoy him, and to her joy she felt him straighten out behind her, his face no longer so intimately close to hers, even though his body was still touching her. _Good_, she thought relieved, reveling in the absence of Itachi's distracting warmth. Now she could think right again.

"So I see," was Itachi's cool reply, causing Sakura to tilt her head a little to get a glimpse of him. He wasn't even looking at her…for some odd reason he was staring right at Takano-san.

Takano-san! She blushed, imagining what this must come across as to him. Itachi embracing her in such a fashion, speaking to her in soft tones—he was definitely going to get the wrong idea, and Itachi _must_ have known that, so why the hell was he acting like her…lover, or boyfriend, or something!

"I didn't know you had a…meeting with your captain, Haruno-san." Sakura groaned in her head, a loud and suffering sound. Ugh. Why did the word 'meeting' sound so similar to the word 'date'? He was _undoubtedly_ getting the wrong idea here. She hastened to try and fix the impending misunderstanding.

"Ah, actually, Takano-san," she began, shooting a dirty look at the Uchiha behind her, "I _didn't._ Uchiha-san just has a habit of showing up wherever I happen to be."

"Oh." Takano glanced amusedly to Itachi, their eyes locking. Sakura was starting to feel distinctly uncomfortable as Takano's mouth twisted into a miniature grin. "So you're the famous Uchiha Itachi."

"Indeed." Sakura blanched. Itachi's voice didn't sound happy at all. In fact, it kind of had a I'm-going-to-kill-you-and-hide-your-body tone ringing in it. "And you are?"

"Takano Shinji. Head supervisor at the hospital."

"Hn." Sakura sighed—Itachi was reverting back to monosyllabic speech, something that Sasuke always did when he was annoyed about something. Sakura should know, he used it often enough with _her_ when they were young.

She was really spending way too much time around Uchihas if she was able to find meaning in a single noise.

Sakura frowned ferociously: Itachi looked downright _menacing_, just what was his problem? Sakura studied him in befuddlement, ceasing her concerns about getting away. Now she was getting a little worried, for she hadn't ever seen Itachi acting like this before.

It was probably best to get him out of there as soon as possible, before someone possibly lost their head. She still had her doubts about how stable Itachi really was in the mental area. Trying to be pleasant, she spoke through her teeth, "Did you need me for something, Itachi?"

Obviously ignoring their present company, Itachi pulled her away a little and gently spun her in his arms, making her face him. Her eyes grew large at his closeness, and she glared up at him defiantly. _What was with Itachi's sudden need for human contact_? She seethed in her mind.

"We have a…previous engagement, Sakura." Itachi's eyes were glittering with amusement now.

That only served to confuse her more, and she momentarily forgot where she was. Previous engagement? She racked her brains quickly. What had she forgotten about? She didn't remember being told that they had to do something together today.

A horrible thought suddenly struck her. Dear heavens, had she unconsciously made a date with Itachi or something? After all, there was a large blank piece in her memory from when she had fainted during their fight yesterday. Who knows what Inner Sakura might have done? The only thought running through her head at the moment was: _Please, please no_.

"What are you _talking_ about, Itachi?" She questioned heatedly. Honestly, just keeping up with him made her brain want to fry. Really, why did _she_ have to be the one stuck with the scary prodigy becoming attracted to her. Why couldn't she have just got a nice, simple-minded boy like Choji?

Itachi leaned his head down closer, his face extremely near hers now. Smoothly, he said, "I believe I won our little game yesterday, did I not, Sakura?"

Sakura was aghast as understanding crashed down on her. Of course, the stupid training lessons. She had completely forgotten about them. Sighing softly, and thinking mournfully of the dinner she could have been happily devouring right now, she said to him grumpily, "I thought we weren't going to be starting for a while."

"I'm leaving tonight, so it's best that we begin as soon as possible," he answered, a small smirk on his face. "Don't argue with me Sakura-_chan_."

She twitched at the nickname, but something else caught her attention. "You're leaving again?" He nodded. "Why?"

She shifted uneasily at the sudden flash of warmth in his eyes as he looked at her, a hint of a real smile appearing briefly. It wasn't like she was worried or concerned or anything! She was just curious! _Does he really have to look at me like _that_? _She grumbled. _It makes processing things kinda difficult. _

Itachi glanced at where Takano was still standing, eyeing them curiously. He murmured to her, "I will tell you later, Sakura, but now we need to leave." Itachi released her, and for a moment she didn't move away, only continued to stand near him.

To go or not to go, that seemed to be the question here. But then again, she didn't really have a choice in the stupid matter right now. Itachi had won the bet yesterday…

Grudgingly, she agreed, "Alright." Then, just to make sure Itachi understood she wasn't doing this because she wanted to, she threw in, "But I'm going under protest."

Itachi laughed softly at her reluctance. "It's been duly noted, Sakura. Now come."

"I'm not a dog, you know! Hey, Uchiha!" Sakura glared at his back as he swiftly turned and began to walk away from the area. That man! One day, she swore she was just going to—

"I take it you're leaving now?"

Oops. She had forgotten Takano-san for a moment. Smiling guiltily, she played with the ends of her hair a little. "I'm really sorry—"

"I understand, it's fine." Takano glanced at Itachi's retreating back, then at her. "We'll just continue this tomorrow, Haruno-san."

Sakura blinked. "Er, you mean—"

"I think your captain's going to leave you behind if you don't go after him."

Sakura swiveled on the spot and let out an aggravated breath. Dammit, he was right! Itachi came and interfered with her dinnertime, and now he was leaving her behind? She was going to punch him all the way back to Konoha.

Distractedly, she waved a hand at the head medic, and took off after Itachi, her lithe form dodging between the people filling the streets.

Sakura left so suddenly, she never saw the speculative look cross Takano's handsome face.

* * *

Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp—

"Ow!" Naruto was cut off in mid slurp as a fist came down on his head. He glowered threateningly at the culprit, rubbing his blond spikes in consternation. "What the hell was that for, teme!"

"You were being annoying."

"I was eating my ramen!"

"You need to do it more quietly, stupid. I can't hear myself think."

"More like you can't concentrate on your reflection in the spoon."

"Shut up, idiot."

"Narcissist bastard!"

"Loud-mouth."

"You--!"

"Naruto-kun! Sasuke-san! Please!" Ayame, the owner's daughter, cut in quickly. "Don't get into another fight again! Last time you broke three of the tables!" She shuddered at that particular incidence. Not that she and her father didn't love Naruto dearly as a valued customer, but really, they had their limits…

Naruto quickly quieted down, and shot a warning look at Sasuke to do the same, who merely rolled his eyes in reply. After all, he couldn't risk getting banned from Ichiraku. His blue eyes grew large at such a horrifying prospect. It was his safe haven, his paradise, his retreat, his—

"Maah, I really wish that Sakura-chan were here! She usually does so well in keeping you two in check!" Ayame complained before heading off into the back kitchens.

That was more successful in shutting up the two bickering friends, and effectively slammed a depressed atmosphere onto the two teenage boys. Both were oddly silent, the topic they had been trying to forget suddenly plaguing their minds again.

Sakura.

Sakura on a mission.

Sakura on a _long_ mission.

Sakura on a long mission with _Itachi_.

Sakura on a long mission with Itachi without them there to look after her.

In unison, Sasuke and Naruto sighed and shoved in a large mouthful of ramen. And the miserable slurping noises resumed for a time.

Naruto dropped his chopsticks, ignoring them as they clattered loudly against the countertop. He twisted his hands in his hair, frustrated, and rested his head against them.

"It's not distracting me, teme! Ramen's not working!" Naruto's blue orbs were shining with despair. Ramen had _never_ failed to cheer him up before. This was serious.

Sasuke, more sedately but just as frustrated, dropped his chopsticks onto the counter as well. "We can't do anything, I told you that before."

"I keep getting these horrible images in my brain!" Naruto whined, grating on Sasuke's nerves. "Poor, innocent Sakura-chan all alone with that damn robot! For weeks!"

"Don't be stupid, dobe, nothing's going to happen." Sasuke's answer didn't exactly have the confidence that Naruto was looking to hear, and even Sasuke looked doubtful as he said it.

"Dammit, I should've _demanded_ that Baa-chan let me go with them!"

Sasuke snorted. "You did, remember?"

"Huh? I don't remember that…" Naruto scratched his head, confused.

Sasuke took it upon himself to clarify. "That's because you went flying out the window after you called her Baa-chan."

"Oh yeah…" Not to be discouraged, Naruto's eyes lit up with an idea. "Maybe I should send Gamakichi over to Gaara and ask him to keep an eye on Sakura-chan for me!"

The dark-haired boy stared at his friend. "I think the Kazekage probably has better things to do than watch over a Leaf kunoichi, Naruto. Besides," he said scowling, "I don't trust that psycho guy with Sakura."

Naruto laughed gleefully. "You're still mad that Gaara kicked your spiky ass at the chunin exams, teme."

Sasuke's scowl grew more pronounced, and his eye twitched. "I am no—"

"And besides," Naruto interrupted, ignoring Sasuke, "Your brother's no less crazy than Gaara."

Sasuke stopped, considering that. As loathe as he was to admit it, Naruto _did_ have a point there. "Hn. True."

They sat in silence for another minute, each pondering over a possible course of action they could take to get to Suna. It never really occurred to either of the concerned blockheads that Sakura might not need saving, but like most men, Naruto and Sasuke had one-track minds when it came to the person they cared about. And it was difficult for them to conceive that Sakura might not be in any danger with Itachi. After all, there was absolutely _no_ way that she would ever welcome Sasuke's demon brother's interest. Absolutely not.

"So, what are we going to do?"

And with that they were back to square one.

"Nothing. Like I said," Sasuke grumbled, trying to block out the squawk of protest emitting from Naruto. He picked up his chopsticks, absently poking at his ramen with them.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Naruto shot at Sasuke reproachfully. "How can you be such an unfeeling bastard?"

"You said that already. Stop being repetitive."

"But we _have_ to figure out some sort of way to help Sakura-chan from—"

"What about Sakura?"

Naruto and Sasuke froze at the new voice in the conversation. And swallowed simultaneously, their throats bobbing nervously.

Crap. More complications had just arrived. Ones that could be hazardous to their health.

They flinched, and tried to go for a relaxed, careless air, turning to look at the new arrival.

Naruto went first, a bright toothy grin on his face. "A-ah, Kaka-sensei! When did you get back?"

An eye crinkle. That was a good sign. "Actually, Naruto, I just came back about an hour ago."

Then Sasuke tried. "How was the mission?"

"Why Sasuke! Could it be that you and Naruto were concerned about your old sensei? My, my, I have such sweet students."

Sasuke sweatdropped, his eye twitching at his teacher's tone.

"But since you asked, it went well. I'm still alive and kicking," he added cheerfully.

Naruto regarded him suspiciously. "Weren't you supposed to be back a week ago?"

Kakashi stretched lazily, and yawned, "Well, you see, I was on my way back here when I saw this poor kitten stuck up in a tree. So of course I had to help get him down from there."

"And it took you an entire week to get the cat from the tree?" Sasuke deadpanned, too used to his teacher's lies to really pay attention.

"Well, it was a pretty stubborn cat. But I got him down in the end."

But both heaved a silent sigh of relief, thinking they had successfully distracted him. Unfortunately, Kakashi was way ahead of them. He came up behind them, and placed a seemingly friendly hand on each of their heads.

"And speaking of sweet students, just what did Sakura need rescuing from?"

Double crap.

"E-eh? Kaka-sensei, I think you must have heard wrong, I mean—" Naruto stuttered, trying to recover his lost composure after slipping up so badly.

"Oh really? Huh, I suppose my hearing must be going bad. Grey hair and all that, you know." But Kakashi kept his firm grip on his students, clearly smiling under his mask.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged panic looks. If Kakashi found out about Itachi and Sakura, he'd probably blame Naruto and Sasuke. After all, he was all about teamwork. Not to mention he favored Sakura, and was a tad bit overprotective of her. And coming from Naruto and Sasuke, who were a bit paranoid about Sakura's wellbeing themselves, that was saying a lot. Kakashi probably wouldn't approve of Itachi's pursuit of Sakura anymore than they did.

It seemed they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Undoubtedly, Sakura wouldn't want Kakashi to know about what had been going on between her and Itachi lately. If they told him, she'd beat the living daylights out of them. On the other hand, if they kept lying to Kakashi-sensei, he'd find someway of making their lives a living hell during training.

Decisions, decisions.

Naruto was muttering something about switching teams, and Sasuke was cursing the day he had seen his brother practicing and wanted to become a shinobi. Both of them seemed to get the stuffing kicked out of them from their teammates as opposed to enemy shinobi.

Taking an evil pleasure in seeing his beloved students sweating, Kakashi merely shrugged and said, "Well, if you two aren't going to be of any help, I guess I'll just go find Sakura and ask her myself." Turning around, he raised a hand languidly in parting. "See ya."

Eyes bulging out in horror, Naruto and Sasuke crashed into each other as they struggled to stop Kakashi from leaving.

"Kakashi-sensei, hold it!"

"Wait a minute!"

In mock carelessness, Kakashi slowed to a stop, and eyeballed them. "Hm?"

The two teens eyed one another, each trying to get out of being the one to tell Kakashi. Sasuke exhaled loudly, rubbing his head. He might as well be the one to do it—the dobe would probably screw it up and make it seem worse than it already was.

He opened his mouth, eliciting a beam from Kakashi. "Ah, Sasuke, so you've decided to be the honest one!"

He glared at Kakashi's flippant words, stubbornly closing his mouth.

Naruto elbowed his friend not-so-subtly in an attempt to get him talking. All he got for his efforts was a grumpy Uchiha.

Clearing his throat nervously, and running his fingers through his shaggy blond locks, Naruto realized it was all up to him, since Sasuke clearly wasn't going to be saying anything. Bastard, leaving him to face their teacher alone.

Well, Naruto had always heard that honesty was the best way to go, or something along those lines. Besides, he thought, brightening up, maybe if they told Kaka-sensei, he could beat up Itachi for them! Hm, that was definitely a possibility.

Nodding to himself with satisfaction, Naruto began.

"Kaka-sensei, a few days after you left for your mission, Sasuke, Sakura, 'n me decided to…"

* * *

**For some reason, I had a lot to say in this note :P**

**A giant thanks to everyone for all of your encouragement and praise! It really means a lot to me hehe :-). Also, for those of you who celebrate it, I really hope you had a happy Thanksgiving and ate lots of turkey! **

**Another item I wanted to talk about was that I'm thinking about looking for a beta-reader. I'm aware that there are billions of beta readers to choose from, but I'd like it if one my wonderful readers wanted to. If anyone's super awesome with checking for mistakes and helping out with things like plot line or fight scenes, and would be willing to beta this story, I'd like to hear from you ^_^. **

**SPOILER ALERT: So, lots of people said they were keeping up with the manga. What was your reaction when it was revealed that Sakura was going to try and kill Sasuke? Mine was this: O_O**

**Next chapter: Sakura finds out what it means to train with Itachi, and finally gets her long-awaited dinner for her poor stomach. **

**I appreciate constructive criticism, helpful tips, or just plain ol' happy comments, so please leave a review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: For what feels like the millionth time, I don't own Naruto. **

* * *

Sakura hit the ground with a painful thud, skidding a little and bringing the dirt and rock on the ground with her, scraping her exposed skin. Unfortunately, such were the consequences of not being quick enough to dodge a certain Uchiha's swift kick.

She bit back a groan—training with Itachi was every bit as painful as actually fighting him (minus the whole part where she would probably be dead in under a minute had she actually been in a serious battle with him). In layman's terms, it was hell. She actually found herself _longing_ for Tsunade-shishou's brutal exercises, and Kakashi-sensei's smut reading self. Heck, she'd gladly volunteer herself for a week of prancing around in a tight green jumpsuit with Lee and Gai as opposed to _this_.

Her stomach let out a piteous rumble as she lay there, breathing hard and fast, her chest rising and falling rapidly with the effort. She ignored the growling of her stomach—she had lost all sense of hunger two _hours_ ago after she had come out here with Itachi. In fact, she had pretty much lost all sense of _anything_ after training with Itachi.

She swore to whoever was listening that if she made it through these three weeks, she'd never ever complain about Kaka-sensei or Shishou again. In fact, she'd buy them gifts every day and make sure to write extensive odes about their greatness. She'd never again lecture Tsunade-shishou for sleeping when there was paperwork to be completed, or Kakashi-sensei for being three hours late every time he scheduled training practice with them.

Someone up there was laughing at her. They had to be. All those years of lamenting about having a pervy teacher and a lazy, short-tempered mentor had arrived to bite her in the butt at last.

"Get up, Sakura."

And, of course, she couldn't overlook who was there with her either. And indeed, there he was: Itachi, Demon King extraordinaire, looking impeccable as always and making Sakura feel the urge to poke his eye out. Or something equally as violent. She figured that since he was going to go blind some day anyways, she might as well save him the trouble and just do it herself.

For the umpteenth time, she berated herself for her arrogance that had landed her in this mess. Really, making that _stupid_ bet with Itachi? Thinking she could actually one-up him in a battle? Just what had she been _thinking?_

Just contemplating her impulsiveness when it came to Itachi made her mildly depressed.

_I think I was too intoxicated with the idea of freedom from Itachi and being hounded by two annoying teammates to really reason well, _she answered herself dully. _And _I'm_ supposed to be the _smart_ one of Team Seven, dammit! I definitely pulled a Naruto on this one!_

Gritting her teeth, she picked herself off the ground reluctantly, eyeing Itachi warily. What was the point? She'd just get tossed down there again.

But, on the other hand, it was better to get on the move—otherwise Itachi would probably come over and drag her off the ground himself.

"I'm getting up, I'm getting up," she muttered. She avoided wincing as her joints let out a loud, protesting squeak at the movement.

Ouch. _I hope Itachi didn't hear that_. That was all she needed right now: for Itachi to see her acting like a bent-out-of-shape old lady. _Because that's so very flattering, Sakura._

Itachi approached her slowly, sweeping his gaze up and down her thoughtfully. She valiantly resisted the urge to cover herself—she wasn't a piece of fish he was buying at the market!

"You're still not moving quickly enough when you fight."

_Obviously, _she thought darkly, if she was having her ass served to her on an Itachi-shaped platter.

She ran a hand through her wet, sweat-soaked hair, trying to unstick it from where it was plastered against her forehead. _Ew_, she thought in disgust, her nose wrinkling at the moisture that was on her skin and hair. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was the copious amount of sweat and dirt that accompanied training. She was a girl, first and foremost, after all. It was another situation of kunoichi desire to get down and dirty versus womanly compulsion to stay clean and sparkling.

She glared a little at the Uchiha from under her lashes. Itachi was as immaculate as usual—she could just _see_ those dazzling sparkles glinting off his ebony hair. He wasn't even out of breath! She swore that in another life he _must_ have been a girl, because no guy could be that beautiful naturally.

"I know, Itachi," she answered wearily, trying to avoid wobbling on her feet. It had been a long day, and she wasn't exactly up for training right now, least of all with him. In fact, the only thing she wanted to fight with now was what color pajamas she was going to wear to bed. "I need to work on my speed."

She was so intent on not falling on her face that she missed the slightly softened look that came into Itachi's eyes at her fatigue.

"There's plenty of time to improve on it, Sakura." When she didn't answer, and her face still appeared crestfallen, Itachi chided her gently, "Discouragement will only hinder you further."

She glanced up, surprised at his… almost kind tone of voice. It was so un-Itachi like, it actually caught her off-guard. She smiled a little, feeling inexplicably warm. "I know."

Her hands clenched. "Shishou was more concerned about building up my strength and chakra control," Sakura said. "And Kaka-sensei didn't exactly give me the same special super-speed training that Sasuke-kun got from him." She realized that she sounded a little bitter at that, and quickly banished it from her voice. After all, she never resented the obvious favoritism and extra attention Kakashi had given to her dear friend. He had always deserved it, what with his prodigal ingeniousness. "But I just have to work harder, right?"

Itachi had a small smirk on now, fully approving of her determination. It was one thing that his foolish little brother had sorely lacked in all of his life, as Sasuke had usually taken things for granted. It was satisfactory to see that not everyone in Team Seven were lazy idiots. "And that is why you have me as your teacher, Sakura."

For a split second she forgot how disgruntled she was at being forced into training with Itachi. It… it was odd to have someone so intent on her, and her alone.

But nice, nevertheless.

She bobbed her head, acknowledging his words. Still, she was confused as to an aspect of their training. She figured now was as good a time as ever to ask him about it.

Clearing her throat, and feeling more than a bit uncomfortable with their rather relaxed air, she said, "Er, Itachi?"

He watched her expectantly.

"You _do_ know that I'm already proficient in taijutsu…apart from the whole speed thing." For the duration of the lesson, Itachi had been drilling her in simple and rudimentary taijutsu exercises, for reasons beyond her understanding. Tsunade had focused most heavily on that aspect of shinobi training, and that was where Sakura was most advanced. The only conclusion she could come to was that Itachi didn't know that, which was rather difficult to conceive considering she threatened to beat him up on a regular basis.

"I am aware of that, Sakura."

Her forehead crinkled up as she raised her eyebrows. "Then _why_ are we working on taijutsu? Wouldn't it be more time-efficient to just skip it and go onto ninjutsu or genjutsu?"

Itachi's voice was patient as he gave a perfunctory explanation. "It is always best to start with the basics, perfect them, and proceed from there, Sakura. Taijutsu is the most important of all the shinobi arts. Relying on genjutsu and ninjutsu is a crutch and a fatal weakness if you run out of chakra mid-battle." Somewhere in the far corners of her mind, his words made sense, but she was having a bit of trouble comprehending them right now. Her eyes were slipping shut, but she forced them open again. Belatedly, she hoped Itachi hadn't noticed…

"You're tired. We will stop here for the day, Sakura."

Of course. She should have remembered that he missed nothing, particularly when it was in regards to her.

She tried for her usual upbeat, energetic tone, the idea that he was taking pity on her inexplicably annoying her. "I can keep going, Itachi. We don't have to stop."

"Your body disagrees with you, I think," he replied without missing a beat, his eyes finding her unsteady form.

_Smartass_, she thought resentfully, unable to deny that her body was jumping in joy at the prospect of stopping for the day.

Her feet had already began to move sporadically of their own accord, trying to balance her as everything started getting blurry. Sakura felt like hitting herself—she knew the signs of dangerous exhaustion and she knew that she was experiencing them right now. Medical lessons all day, lack of food, strenuous training… hah. Some medic-nin _she_ was. She didn't even have enough brains to know when to stop going. Unsurprisingly, she felt a hand gently grasp her arm, steadying her, while another hand grabbed her other wrist to help keep her upright. The only thing she had enough energy to wonder was how he had managed to catch her so quickly. Hadn't he been over there somewhere…?

Huh. This seemed to be a common occurrence as of late. The observation flashed quickly through her hazy mind, disappearing as fast as it had come.

She knew she was extremely far gone into the land of fatigue when she couldn't even muster up the energy to care or berate him for invading her personal space _again_. She knew she was extremely far gone into the land of fatigue when she was actually feeling safe and supported by having Itachi hold her up. She didn't even bother to analyze it right now, and allowed her body to act how it wanted to, without the resistance of her mind. It felt sort of… relieving, for once, just to give in to her natural reactions. Not to have to fight all the time.

Almost blindly, she tiredly leaned into the only source of warmth around her, which just so happened to be Itachi. Her eyes nearly shot open with surprise. For what she, Naruto, and Sasuke had always thought to be a human ice cube, Itachi was really warm. Like, really, really, warm. How was that even possible? Shouldn't he be all frigid and solid like a big, stone rock? Dammit, he definitely wasn't allowed to be this cozy warm! She stewed there for a moment over the matter of his body heat, though she was still sane enough to know she was acting more than a little erratic and irrational.

Her head plopped down onto his shoulder.

It was comfy.

_It's just for a moment_, she tiredly told herself.

_Just until my head clears_.

* * *

Itachi meanwhile, was a bit unsure of how to deal with the new development as Sakura leaned into his hands, her head drowsily resting on his shoulder. The natural scents of earth and exertion surrounded her, mixed with the remaining fragrance of whatever she used to wash her hair with. He tried to ignore the sudden onslaught of contentedness that permeated his soul as she curled into him more, muttering something about "ice cubes" and "unfair".

She must have been overtired if she wasn't being resistant to him, as she normally was. If she wasn't glaring at him with her entrancingly green eyes and threatening to punch him with her deceptively petite hands, as per usual. A hint of a smile was on his face as he slid his hands further up her arms to hold her more securely, his palms feeling the unbelievable softness of her skin. He brought her closer, eyes taking in the details of her face. Even after training, she was strangely beautiful, her face flushed with a healthy pink and her forehead streaked with traces of dirt.

Itachi found that Sakura, even while ragged and glowing from training, was still infinitely preferable to all of the extravagantly overdressed, traditionally beautiful women of the Uchiha clan. She held something invaluable within her, something which invariably ended up drawing him to her each time they were together. Something that attracted him like no other had before, either man or woman.

Oddly enough, looking at her right now, she reminded him of Sasuke when he had been young. Forever coming back to the Uchiha compound with his face covered in dirt and grime, snuggling next to Itachi as he fell asleep from exhaustion. Trusting. Innocent. Far more endearing than any other creature had the right to be.

Suddenly, a miniature snore emitted from her parted lips, making Itachi blink.

Sakura's eyes were firmly closed, part of her face obscured by his shoulder, her cheek pressed against the soft material of his clothing.

She had fallen asleep.

Standing up.

Standing up and leaning on _him_.

Itachi stared at her for a moment, completely bemused. This was a… first.

His eyes closing, he tilted his head forward, resting his forehead against hers wearily, and reveling in the feeling of being uninterrupted and _alone_ with her. True, he would have preferred it more had she been awake and conscious, as well as willing, but he would take what he could while he still had the chance. He was leaving tonight, and he would be forced to leave her alone again. This translated into having her plaguing his mind while he was attempting to gather information on the Akatsuki, worrying that Hana and Shisui wouldn't be attentive or aware enough for _one_ moment, and that he would come back to discover something had happened to her.

Itachi was no fool; he recognized that he was immersing himself far too deep in the endless lure that was Sakura. That he was becoming dangerously attached to a mere girl of sixteen, who also had the added complication of being his younger brother's precious teammate. That he should leave her be before it was too late for him to do so.

Unfortunately, when he wanted something, he usually tended to ignore the rational reasons that would prevent him from attaining it. After all, half the reward of the product was cleverly manipulating life to achieve it, was it not?

Dark eyes found their way to her face, puzzling over it, trying to unlock it.

"What are you doing to me, Sakura?"

It was softly whispered, though without fear and more of a fascinated inquiry.

In the barrenness of Suna, there was no one to hear, nor answer, his question.

* * *

Sakura sat on her rickety stool at the ramen bar, her arms crossed irritably and her eyes looking anywhere but at the handsome Uchiha seated beside her.

Falling asleep on a person and then being spontaneously woken up to eat tended to make you a bit self-conscious, and Sakura was experiencing an exceedingly bad case of that now.

Oh god, she had probably drooled. Naruto always told her she drooled in her sleep.

Just as she was blocking out Itachi, she also ignored Inner Sakura's helpful comment about the comfortable sleep she had gotten on the Itachi-pillow.

_Honestly_, Sakura growled at herself, still determinedly ignoring the amused man next to her, _what was all that garbage about just 'resting there for a moment'? You went and fell asleep on the man!_ In her top ten embarrassing moments, this had to have ranked up next to the time that she had lost that bet to Ino and was forced to… eh. She shuddered, it was a memory better left alone and abandoned in the dark recesses of her mind.

She wondered how Itachi was sitting there, seemingly perfectly at ease, while she was tense and awkward beyond belief. Surreptitiously, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Or maybe it was just a façade? Maybe he was actually angry that she had passed out on him after training?

Her eyes were metaphorical swirls of puzzlement.

No, that couldn't be. Itachi was just enough of a sadist to have left her body lying on the training grounds if he had gotten irritated with her. She should know—Sasuke-kun once said he'd fallen unconscious while training with his brother, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up to an amused Itachi happily munching onigiri and staring at him blandly. Though… considering the source that story had come from, it might have been embellished a little.

"Is something wrong, Sakura?"

Itachi watched as Sakura yelped and had to grab onto the countertop before she fell off her stool.

Sakura, flustered and incredibly horrified at her reaction to Itachi's impromptu words, muttered, "No."

"You were distracted."

That was obvious. What gave it away? The vacant expression she must've had on? She sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose softly, the good, blissful feeling causing her to say absentmindedly, "I was just thinking of you…"

She froze.

Itachi stilled, his eyes reflecting an odd emotion.

_Wait. What? What did I just say? Damn mouth, speaking without permission again!_ Sakura thought frantically, slapping her hands over the offending part of her body.

Well, in hindsight, it had only been the truth. She peeked at Itachi, whose muscles were oddly tensed and hands were unnaturally still.

_Just kill me now_, she begged to whoever was listening.

Hastily, she corrected her words, unable to help babbling slightly. "I mean… I was just thinking of when you were leaving. You're leaving tonight, right? That's what you said earlier." Mentally, she wiped the nervousness away at the nice save. Beside her, she noticed as Itachi relaxed fractionally, though she was still unsure as to what had caused his reaction before.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Dare I hope you'll be missing me, Sakura?"

"No!" He looked at her blankly, hardly perturbed by her quick answer. Sakura, feeling a little rude at her outburst, hurriedly amended, "It's just… I was wondering where you were going. You left when we first got here too, and even Shisui-san didn't know where you were."

"Hn."

She rolled her eyes at his typically vague answer. _Uchiha!_ "Does that mean you're not going to tell me?"

"Possibly."

"Not ever?" She pressed on, her interest peaked now. Really, what was he doing that was so important?

"No, just not in the near future."

"Because you _can't_ tell me, or because you don't _want_ to tell me?" She asked curiously, idly propping up her chin on a hand.

Itachi glanced at her, his dark eyes teasing. "I see now why Sasuke has such a hard time keeping anything from you. Are you this persistent in everything you do, Sakura?" At her embarrassed scowl, he added, "But in this matter, it's not something that you need trouble yourself with. I'm merely gathering information at the Hokage's request."

Unable to help herself, she questioned, "On what?"

She bit back a little yelp as two of Itachi's fingers raised up to poke her gently in the forehead. "I'm not telling you, remember?"

Rubbing her forehead more out of wounded pride at being treated like a child than actual pain, Sakura muttered, "Yeah, yeah. I remember." At any rate, it was probably just ANBU stuff, since Tsunade-shishou had personally given Itachi the orders to carry out a separate mission. Ugh, that was why she couldn't stand the ANBU Black Ops organization, nor ever see herself becoming one of them. There was far too much secrecy, and Sakura preferred living as openly and honestly as being a shinobi would allow. Besides, right now she was preoccupied with just making it to jounin status, never mind getting into ANBU.

Sighing, and leaning her head more into her hand in a weary gesture, she asked him, "So, the reason we had to start," she grimaced, "training today was because you're leaving tonight?"

"Essentially."

"Essentially?" She repeated incredulously. She eyeballed him dangerously. "Was there _another_ reason that I was cruelly denied my dinner and punted around for two hours, Uchiha?" Oh, if there was, he was _so_ having his ramen poisoned.

"Hn."

"Uchiha!"

Itachi turned his gaze on her fully, his dark eyes meeting hers in amusement. "Why do you do that, Sakura?"

That effectively confused her. "Do what?"

He smirked slightly, mirroring her position as he slid his hand to barely rest beneath his chin, his dark hair falling forwards as he tilted his head. "You alternate between my first and surname."

Damn. He had caught that. She inhaled softly, trying to figure out to explain it in a way that wouldn't make her look utterly stupid. "I guess… it depends on how I'm feeling towards you at the moment." She avoided smacking herself in the head. Because that didn't sound stupid at _all_.

He looked intrigued, leaning forwards minutely as he listened to her. "Oh?"

She bit her lip, then continued slowly. "I call you Itachi when you're acting… somewhat tolerably. But… when you make me feel like I want to send you flying through a bunch of trees, that's when I call you Uchiha." Sheepishly, and hating to be put on the spot like that, she met his eyes, quickly glancing away when she caught laughter in them. She knew she shouldn't have told him that!

She shifted uneasily on her stool, feeling it creak beneath her. "It's no big deal… I do the same to Sasuke-kun when he annoys me." She switched her attention back to him, triumphant in the idea that the smirk must have been wiped off his smug face with that statement.

To her disappointment, it was still there. Casting frantically around for another subject, lest he interrogate her more on the subject, she said, "Good job on distracting me from my original question, Uchiha."

Itachi leaned backwards, seemingly withdrawing from her personal space for the moment. "And what question was that, Sakura?"

"If there was another reason for why we had to start training so darn early," she replied, only too happy to remind him. She wasn't going to let him avoid _this_ question. Her eyes clouded slightly as yet another question that had been troubling her rose to mind. Hesitantly, she went on, "Itachi… I don't even get _why_ you would _want_ to teach me." She sighed as she looked up at him. "Care to explain? We've got time."

To her surprise, Itachi actually had a contemplative expression on his face as he surveyed her, looking as though he was processing her request. Sourly, she realized he was probably editing what he was going to tell her. Wasn't that man capable of expressing his honest thoughts, straightforwardly and frankly?

"Why wouldn't I want to help you, Sakura?"

She blinked at his straightforward question. And narrowed her eyes a little at his answering-a-question-with-a-question method. She really hoped he didn't think she didn't notice that he was avoiding answering her.

"It's just…" _You don't find me too weak?_ Was what she really wanted to say. She gave an inward sigh, reasoning that that statement wasn't completely true. After her apprenticeship with Tsunade-shishou, no one, including herself, would dare to call her weak. But… those early years of being denied hard training by Kakashi-sensei, and being forced to constantly watch the backs of her advancing friends, had really taken a toll on her self-assuredness, even now. "I don't want to annoy you."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Annoy me?"

Waving her hand around, she said, thinking it obvious, "Well… yeah. You're an ANBU captain, you have your oh-so-secret mission here. I just… figured you'd have better things to do."

"Such as?"

She was startled at his blunt question, and was momentarily stumped by it. "Er… improving diplomatic relations?"

Smirking, and finding it irresistible to tease her, he said, "So, the only activity I'm allowed to preoccupy myself with is 'improving diplomatic relations'?"

"Yes… I mean, no… I mean… I don't know!" She gave up trying to prove her point, clearly the loser in this battle. She exhaled loudly, staring down at the countertop with a murderous stare. The countertop was saved from bursting into flames when she was distracted from looking at it by Itachi's calming voice.

"Rest assured, if I didn't want to train you, I wouldn't. You are far from annoying to me, Sakura," he said after a moment, his eyes unwavering from her face where he was carefully watching her reaction. "But, to answer your earlier question, yes, there were other motives in wanting to train you."

Her fingers played distractedly with the edge of the counter top. Something inside of her was desperately warning her not to continue with this conversation, but she ignored it and plowed on, parroting his words from before. "Such as?"

"Selfishness."

"Eh?" How was wanting to train her selfishness? Reluctant as she was to admit it, it was hard to see taking up Itachi's precious time as selfishness on his part. If anything, and she couldn't believe she was actually defending him from herself, it was _unselfish_, what he was trying to do for her. "I'm not exactly following here." As seemed to be the norm whenever she spoke with Itachi.

Itachi couldn't help the curve that tilted the corner of his mouth upon seeing Sakura's innocently perplexed face. "Once we get back to Konoha…"

"Here you go! One vegetable ramen and beef ramen! Thank you for your patronage!"

Sakura nearly fell off her chair (for the second time that night) when the perky waitress cheerfully plopped their respective orders down in front of them, along with a set of chopsticks for each. She felt an unordinary amount of displeasure at the conversation being broken up so suddenly.

She shot a scowl at Itachi, who was smirking at her obvious ire. He had to have timed that to leave her hanging. She wouldn't put it past him and his scary psychic powers. Either that or someone up there really hated her.

"What were you going to—" She began, though a little hopeless at the idea of him continuing what he was saying. Sure enough, he interrupted.

"Eat, Sakura. We'll talk later," he told her quietly, turning to his own food and, in effect, ignoring her.

Unwilling to let him off the hook, (So kill her, she was curious about what he was going to say!), she twitched and heatedly asked, "When is later, Itachi? Later could be two seconds from now or two _years_ from now." Sakura's infamous impatience was showing. It was at times such as these that her resemblance to her female mentor was really quite striking.

"Later is when I get back, Sakura. Then… we'll talk, I promise." His voice was low, his dark orbs suddenly clashing with her light green ones. For some reason, she felt like laughing—even their _eyes_ were as different as day and night. How in the world did Itachi even… act like this around her when they were so markedly different? She shook her head, though she couldn't ignore the promise that she was sure he would keep. Even if she didn't want to talk with him, she had a feeling that she would listen to what he had to say anyways. Truth be told, she was getting a little tired of being constantly defiant to him twenty-four seven.

Looking down into the murky depths of her ramen bowl, she exhaled softly. "Fine, Itachi."

They did have a lot to talk about, and it was more than the conversation they had just been having. Much more. And the next time she saw him, she wouldn't let him forget it, for she fully intended on wrangling a few answers from him.

* * *

She realized, staring at her dinner, just how ravenous she really was. A fact which her stomach was helpfully reminding her with by twisting and turning in emptiness. And that smell was so _mouthwatering_…

It was like she hadn't eaten for _years_, what with the way her stomach was reacting to the food. And forget any more interruptions, she glowered as she remembered both Takano-san and Itachi had played a major part in withholding food gratification from her today. She was eating this meal no matter what! Even if the next Shinobi War broke out, everything could just go to hell until she was done snarfing!

Clearly, Sakura was particularly passionate when it came to the matter of food.

_Well, at least Itachi's willing to treat me to a decent meal, unlike _some_ certain, cheap shinobi that I know_… an image of her three baka teammates flashed through her mind as she broke her chopsticks apart, scowling as she remembered all the times she'd reached the end of the meal and suddenly found herself sitting there alone with the bill. She shook her head, smiling ruefully. Idiots.

The next few minutes passed in comfortable silence, punctuated only by the sounds of noodles being sucked up (a majority of that sound was coming from Sakura. Itachi was just too _elegant_ to slurp his ramen, Sakura observed, not without jealousy). She was thoroughly enjoying herself, despite of who her dinner partner was. And Itachi wasn't even that horrible of a dinner companion either, meaning that he was quiet while he ate, and didn't feel the need to break up eating with conversation. Sakura, while she loved to eat with her boys, was a long-sufferer of Naruto's never ending chatter during dinner. Though how he managed to talk and eat through several bowls of ramen at the same time was a bit of a mystery to her. Mostly she chalked it up to just being one of those incomprehensible Naruto things.

She childishly slurped up a noodle, pausing afterwards to savor the delicately salty flavor of this ramen shop's noodles. It was quite different from that of Ichiraku's, she decided after a moment. Perhaps not so spicy… maybe a little more seasoning to stave off the blandness that usually came with ramen… she'd really have to remember to bring Naruto here if he ever came to Suna… Sasuke-kun wouldn't like it, 'cause he didn't really love ramen the way Naruto did… Kakashi-sensei too, he always said after meeting Naruto, he'd had enough ramen to last him a lifetime…

"Sakura."

Itachi's voice broke through her disconnected thoughts. Seriously, she had actually forgotten who she was sitting with for a moment, so enthralled with her meal had she been. Was it too much to ask that he leave her alone in peaceful bliss with her ramen?

Then again, this _was _Itachi. He lived for her annoyance.

Her body froze as she turned to face him, suddenly feeling his warm hand gently holding her chin, his thumb reaching up to… stroke the corner of her mouth? Sakura's eyes snapped to his serious onyx ones, flustered and questioning.

"I-Itachi, what're you—"

She swallowed her words as the rough pad of his thumb softly skimmed over the sensitive flesh of her bottom lip, rubbing it softly, tenderly.

With the grace of an elephant, Sakura narrowly avoided choking on her own spit as she inhaled sharply. Opening her mouth, with a vicious telling off ready to be fired at him, she stopped as she got a good look at Itachi's face.

He was smiling, never mind how minute or lopsided it was. But it was an honest-to-goodness smile… that for some reason made her incredibly pleased to see, her eyes softening automatically in response. It highlighted each feature of his face, making it possible for Sakura to understand, for however brief a moment, why he had so many girls falling over themselves back in Konoha to catch his attention.

She blinked as Itachi withdrew his hand from her face, his fingertips delicately slipping off of her chin, and brought his thumb up to his mouth, his tongue flicking out to taste it.

_What. The. Hell?_ Sakura wasn't really capable of rational thought at this point in time. A sad affliction that was happening _way_ too often nowadays. An affliction that always seemed to affect her whenever Itachi got too close.

Like now.

She supposed it must have shown on her face, because Itachi laughed quietly as he turned back to his own bowl of ramen.

"You had some broth on your face, Sakura." His strikingly slim fingers picked up his previously forgotten chopsticks, dipping the wooden utensils into the bowl. A long slice of green onion was precariously selected from the bowl, expertly pulled out and raised to his lips. "The ingredients here really are quite… delightful, Sakura."

_He was doing that on purpose,_ she fumed as she watched him. Her face turned bright red as the dark-hared Uchiha carelessly inserted the green onion into his mouth, his tongue flicking out in the same manner in which he'd licked his thumb.

It was too much. It was far, far too much for her innocent brain.

She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry beyond belief, and her eyes identical pools of bewilderment.

"Ita—"

"_Sakura!_"

Sakura's view of Itachi was quite abruptly obscured as a person shoved herself between Sakura and Itachi, tossing enthusiastic arms around her. Once again, Sakura was smothered by a pair of arms and a humongous chest, making her choke and sputter for air.

It seemed the entire world was conspiring against her and Itachi being allowed to have a private, uninterrupted conversation.

"Dammit, Temari, get off of her! I don't want the Hokage comin' down here to kick our asses for suffocating her apprentice!"

Once again, she was saved by Kankuro's timely intervention as he hauled the enthusiastic blond away from her. She reminded herself to buy him a gift basket or something one day for all the times he'd saved her from his sister.

"Baka, get off of me! I'm allowed to hug her hello, aren't I?"

"'Hug' being the operative word, sis. Not 'kill' and 'suffocate'. It's a miracle Gaara and I lived past childhood after being raised by you."

Sakura giggled, her mood being drastically lightened by the appearance of her friend. "Ne, Kankuro-san, I don't mind."

Temari looked haughtily at her face-paint wearing younger brother. "See? Sakura says it's okay."

"Whatever. Crazy girls," Kankuro muttered, rolling his eyes. Choosing to ignore the two women next to him, he turned to Itachi, who was watching the entire scene impassively. "Oh, Uchiha-san, I had a message for you." He glared at his older sister from the corner of his eye, who had apparently delegated the task of passing on the message to him in favor of chatting with her friend. Lazy, bossy woman.

"Yes?"

Nearly jumping out of his skin, he rubbed his neck nervously at being on the receiving end of Itachi's unmoving stare. Damn, the man was even more intimidating when you actually talked to him. "My brother wants to see you in his office tonight." Glancing around him quickly, he lowered his voice, doubting that Itachi and Gaara wanted to broadcast what Itachi was doing. "Preferably right before you leave."

"Hn."

Unfamiliar with Uchiha-speak, Kankuro hovered uncertainly for a moment, before shrugging and deciding that he had done his duty in passing along the message. He turned back to the two girls, where Temari was cackling wickedly and Sakura was blushing like a ripe tomato wearing rouge. Sensibly, he decided it was better not to ask, lest he wanted to be scarred for life.

Sakura looked past Temari as she noticed Itachi smoothly sliding off his stool after placing enough money on the table to cover the meal. Where was he going? He had been talking to Kankuro only a minute before.

"Itachi?" She called out softly, making him turn as he reached the exit of the shop, which was somewhere close behind her. She blinked as he was suddenly in front of her, easily pulling her a short distance away from where Temari and Kankuro sat, eliciting an indignant "Hey!" from Temari, who had been robbed of her talking partner. He stopped when they were standing in a corner of the shop, hidden in the shadowy portion that the lamps didn't illuminate.

Sakura ignored being pulled about by him for once, curious as to what he was going to say. Maybe he was going to tell her more about what he was setting off to do? Her green eyes plainly asking him what her mouth didn't, Itachi smirked faintly and told her quietly, "I will see you in two days time, Sakura." Their bodies were close together, the conversation soft enough that outsiders wouldn't be able to hear.

Realization dawned on her. He must have been preparing to leave on whatever it was that Shishou had asked him to do. Stubbornly, she ignored the small wave of worry that hit her stomach, making the muscles clench. It was two days free of Itachi, after all. Her stomach must have been doing back flips of joy. Smiling somewhat, she replied, "Aa. I'll see you then."

"Shisui and Hana will watch out for you while I'm gone."

Darn. She thought he might've forgotten about that. "Look, Itachi, I think I can—"

"You lost the bet, Sakura. One of the conditions was that you allow them to accompany you," he reminded her in what she thought was an unnecessarily patronizing way.

Grumbling, she gave in and said, "Yeah, I remember."

"I'm only thinking of your safety."

Her eyes met his, surprising her at the apparent honesty in his for once. Shifting nervously, she stayed quiet, her throat too dry all of a sudden. Was it just her, or was this conversation happening a tad too quickly? There seemed to be a…hurried feeling in his words.

"And Sakura… that man you were with earlier today—"

"What man?" She questioned, though she had an inkling as to which one he was talking about.

"Takano," he told her, though his mouth twisted oddly, like there was a horrific taste in it.

"What about him?" She asked, if a little defensively. She couldn't imagine why Itachi would be talking to her about him. She had gotten the impression that he hadn't particularly liked the head medic-nin at the hospital.

"Don't…" He paused, as though assessing what her reaction would be. "Just be wary of him, if you continue to associate with him."

She sighed, deciding it was better not to argue with him on the subject. "I will, don't worry." She liked Takano-san, but that didn't mean she trusted him fully. She glared at Itachi, feeling insulted. Really, she wasn't stupid enough to become bosom buddies with someone she hadn't known all that long, as well as someone who had the potential to be an enemy.

"Very well. That is all." He looked away from her for a second, taking in the pitch black sky outside that signaled his time of departure was here. The conversation had been rushed, but he had told her all he needed to. "I will see you later then, Sakura," he promised in low tones.

She nodded, starting to reply, before she was cut off.

Her eyes widened drastically as Itachi leaned in, softly pulling her a step nearer to him simultaneously.

A gentle kiss was brushed against her forehead, lips caressing the skin there for the briefest of instances.

Sakura's heartbeat stopped, heat suffusing her face rapidly.

Then Itachi was walking away in his long strides, disappearing from her line of sight as he left the shop.

Sakura stood there, stock still.

Her mind was a blank. A torturous blank.

This couldn't be healthy for her.

Itachi was probably going to kill her brain dead before she turned twenty. If not sooner.

She'd have to ask Shishou if that was medically possible.

An arm was slung around her shoulders playfully, and she distantly heard Temari purr, "Well, well, well, Sakura. Care to explain?"

She turned and was met with Temari's famous shit-eating-grin.

_I was about to ask the same question, Temari. The exact same question. _

* * *

***Hides behind a tree before peeking out* So…sorry for the long wait? But really, sorry, because this chapter was an evil entity to write. It was just one of those times when you have to pull and fight and argue with it before it'll get written…if that makes sense ^_^. Another thing: thank you so much to everyone who reads/favorites/alerts/reviews my story, it really brings joy into my life and makes me feel guilty when I don't write fast enough!**

**Next, I'm happy to announce that I found a wonderful, talented beta reader in the form of BrittMarie! If you want to thank someone for getting the chapter out, thank her for editing it for me :-)**

*****SPOILER ALERT: Total fangirl moment here: Itachi's alive? Am I seeing that right? Just out of curiosity, what did everyone else think of the last chapter? I pretty much stared at it for ten minutes with a stupid grin on my face, praying that it's not a genjutsu or something, as well as praying that maybe by some freakish plot twist he and Sakura will get together…? Unlikely, but I'm hopeful. **

**I appreciate constructive criticism, helpful tips, or just plain ol' happy comments, so please leave a review! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Alas and alack, Naruto is not mine…nor will it ever be! The pain, the horror, the mind-numbing torture!**

* * *

"_Sakura…why _exactly _are you here, huh?"_

_A bored look over the arms filled with mountains of medical textbooks. "What're you on about now, pig? Why am I not allowed to be here?"_

_Sakura watched amusedly as her erstwhile friend gnashed her teeth in annoyance, leveling the pink-haired girl with a glare intended to reduce her to ashes. "You're not allowed to be here, _Forehead_, because it's eight o'clock and it's the fricken' library!"_

"_So? Shishou assigned me a particularly hard healing jutsu to research. I wanted to start on it," Sakura replied with disinterest towards Ino's obvious outrage, her gaze alight with the prospect of the intended research. Honestly, she grumbled internally, what in the world was Ino getting herself all worked up about? She tried to remember if she had promised the obnoxious blonde a girl's night out or something of that nature._

_Nope, nothing was coming to mind. _

"_And what about that date I set up for you with Kenichi-san? One that your stupid teammates couldn't possible interfere with since they're out on a mission!" Ino snapped, her patience with Sakura rapidly evaporating. A horrified look came over her beautiful features. "Don't tell me you skipped out on it!"_

_Oh._

_Sakura heaved an irritated sigh, her good natured mood slowly dissipating, and set down her books on a nearby table as she proceeded to cross her arms over her chest defensively. "Don't get uppity, pig. I went on the date, okay?"_

"_So why the hell are you _here?" _The blonde asked again, more impatiently now. _

"_Why wouldn't I be here? I went on it, it's over. End of story."_

"_You only met up with him at seven!"_

"_And? It doesn't take long to eat dinner and chat," Sakura replied. _

_Ino looked as though she wasn't sure if she wanted to slap herself, Sakura, or both of them. "Sakura! You let one of the hottest new chunin get away after only an _hour_! Do you know how many girls have _salivating_ after him?" The girls were drawing several odd looks from other library goers by now, though the two paid them no attention. Ino's voice continued to rise. "An hour, Sakura, an hour! You're a disgrace to the female name, Forehead!"_

_Sakura rolled her eyes, brushing her pink hair back from her face. "Stop being so dramatic. He was a nice guy, but there wasn't anything between us. Even _I _could see that. So I decided to be kind and end the date."_

_Ino stared at her incredulously. "And did he actually _say_ that he wanted to end the date?"_

_For the first time in the conversation, Sakura looked distinctly uncomfortable as she clearly considered Ino's words, her eyes gaining a far away look as she obviously replayed the evening in her head. Ino suppressed her desire to knock her friend on the head as hard as she could, for it was apparent what the answer was just by glancing at the pinkette's stricken face. _

"_Sakura, you're completely hopeless!"_

_Flushing angrily, Sakura retorted indignantly, "Alright, so what? It wasn't going anywhere anyways."_

_Ino's voice reached new levels of volume as her face turned dismayed. "Stop blaming other people for your failures, Sakura. Just face it; you don't understand men or romance."_

"_I do too!" _

_Ino smirked at the childish reply, silently rejoicing over being able to one-up her half-friend half-rival. "Nope, don't think so."_

"_And I guess that you're the all-knowing ultimate source of wisdom in that area, pig?"_

"_Yes, I am. More than you are, at any rate."_

_Clearly fuming, Sakura turned on her heel and stalked away, abandoning the medical textbooks in her rush to get away from her annoying friend. _

_Not to be daunted, Ino determinedly followed her out of the large building, almost jogging to keep up with Sakura's brisk pace. "Running away now, Forehead?"_

"_No," Sakura said curtly, her green eyes blazing as she stomped away into the quickly darkening night. _

"_Ya know, you're in a world of trouble, Sakura," Ino told her conversationally as she dogged her footsteps in a safe distance that was out of reach of Sakura's grasp. "What's going to happen when you meet someone that really, really likes you? That you might actually be really compatible with?"_

"_We'll kiss, we'll hug, we'll get married."_

_Ino snorted in disgust. "Don't be so naïve. It's obvious what's going to happen! You're so pigheaded and blind about guys, you're not even going to realize your own feelings!"_

_Sakura stopped, turning to stare stonily at her friend. "I think I'm in touch enough with my feelings that I would recognize something like that, pig."_

"_Oh sure. Maybe millions of years after you completely misunderstand his feelings too," Ino countered without missing a beat. "I've known you for years, Sakura. You'll rationalize, you'll fight, and you'll deny it. You're so frigid and prim, it's not even funny."_

"_I'm not frigid or prim! Just because I don't go running around with guys every night like a certain person here—"_

"_But that's exactly it!" Ino interrupted, her voice now colored with concern. "You _never_ go out with anyone! For heaven's sake, the only guy you ever had a crush on was Sasuke, and that was when we were _twelve_! You're fifteen, and Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei are so overprotective—"_

"_It's not their fault! I just haven't met anyone I actually like yet!"_

"_That's because you don't give them a chance when they make a move!"_

"_What? I should have given that fifty-year-old perverted patient yesterday a chance, huh?"_

"_Stop dodging the issue. You're so concerned with looking out for your teammates and getting stronger under Tsunade-sama that you seriously forget to have fun." Ino halted her tirade for a gathering of air. Looking supremely irritated, she continued on, "There _is _a life outside of your work and friends, you know. Much as I hate to say it, you're young, sort of pretty in a weirdo kind of way, and I guess your personality's not too much of a drag when you actually remember to loosen up."_

"_Thanks for the compliments, Ino," was the sarcastic mutter emitted from Sakura. _

"_Which is why you need to flirt, explore the possibilities!" Ino pushed, ignoring Sakura's interruption. _

_Sakura let out a loud, exasperated breath. "I will when I feel like it."_

"_That's not how love works, Forehead."_

"_Whatever, Ino," Sakura dismissed as she began walking away once again, beyond aggravated at the lecture she was being given. _

"_Fine. All I can say is that I can't wait to see the day when someone actively pursues you, and you don't know how to deal with them," Ino said to her retreating back, a somewhat ominous tone of warning in her voice. "Then I'm _so _gonna say, 'I told you so'." _

_Sakura rolled her eyes again, though Ino couldn't see it. "Be my guest." _

* * *

**Fact**: She was _not_ in love with the Uchiha. That much she was absolutely certain of, without question.

Love did _not_ develop in the span of a few weeks, despite what Ino's ridiculous romance novels said. And, disregarding the fact that she had actually known _of_ Itachi for years, but had really only gotten to _know_ him as of late, she felt that she was secure in denying any stupid romantic feelings towards him.

**Fact**: She may not be in love with him, but she didn't seem to abhor his company as much as she used to. In actuality, she realized to her growing despair, she had become so accustomed to his never-ending presence that it actually felt weird when he was gone. Today was the second day that he was absent from Suna, and it was truly odd to know that she wasn't going to be examined with piercing dark eyes, or incessantly driven to insanity with ill-timed, insightful remarks.

Damn. She wasn't actually _missing _him was she?

Double damn.

**Fact**: She really couldn't deny it, but there was definitely something other than hate where Itachi was concerned. It wasn't an epiphany, or something that had just suddenly happened, but rather, had been a gradual lessening of dislike that Sakura had failed to notice. If the tingles, sparks, and nasty blushing occurrences when she was with him were anything to go by, she was in deep trouble.

Was it just her, or did it feel like she was contradicting herself?

**Fact**: That…kiss. It was only later that she remembered it was her second kiss with a male who wasn't a friend and/or relative. Her first one had been with Itachi too. Nevermind that they were only forehead kisses, it was still serious, dammit!

The only question she had to that was: why the hell didn't she notice what he was doing beforehand and put a stop to it? Had she been reading the signs that Ino claimed males gave off before doing things like that, she would've smacked him into oblivion.

But she hadn't.

**Fact**: That sneaky jerk had definitely planned that kiss, just so she would have ample time to stew and ponder over it while he was gone. Sometimes Sakura really did have to wonder if Itachi constantly lived his life like that, planning ten steps ahead at all times. She wouldn't put it past the scary psychic prodigy of the Uchihas, who was also well known for regularly besting Shikamaru in shogi games. Well, she absolutely _refused_ to fall prey to his diabolical scheme: she would thwart him by not thinking of it **at all**. Not. At. All.

Sakura blatantly ignored the fact that she had been stewing over it the whole day before.

**Fact**: For the second time in her young life, it seemed that Sakura was undoubtedly, majorly, utterly, and completely screwed. And that was just the tip of the ice burg.

Belatedly recalling a particular memory that had occurred about a year ago, Sakura had to confess that she had thought she wouldn't ever live to see the day when Ino was actually right about something.

Miracles do happen, it seems. Ino was really correct about something for once, Itachi was showing signs of having emotions…yes, miracles were happening, but they weren't exactly happening in her favor.

The next thought that occurred was that if Ino ever found out about this, Sakura was _never_ going to live it down. They'd be ninety and Ino would still be goading her with this incident, mercilessly rubbing it in her face. They'd be sitting, toothless and balding, in the park, feeding pigeons, and Ino would say with a wicked gum-exposing grin, "Hey, Forehead, do you remember that time your own naivety came back to bite you in the ass?"

Sakura grit her teeth, smashing her face into the pillow of her bed as though she could eradicate all troublesome thoughts inside her brain by doing so. She took comfort in hiding safely in her bed, far from Itachi and the bright morning sun which seemed to be mocking her black, puzzled mood this morning. She still had an hour before she had to report to her class. That meant an extra hour to gather her thoughts into something that resembled coherency, a task she had been working on all yesterday long.

That…that…she bit the inside of her cheek, hating to even think the word. That _kiss_…she couldn't wipe it from her mind, no matter how much she tried! It was there, lingering and burning a deep, heart-wrenching hole straight through her forehead, the strong feeling of Itachi's lips gently brushing the sensitive skin in a surprisingly tender gesture. She had been thoroughly caught off guard, completely and utterly confused as to _why_ Itachi would kiss _her_, why he would show such affection to her when he barely did to his own _brother!_

Above all, why would she be worthy of any of his notice, anyways? He was so much older than her, so much more _experienced_; she was still a child in the eyes of others, despite her shinobi ranking as a chunin and Tsunade's apprentice. She had seen and heard of countless other women, sensual kunoichi who danced with death on a regular basis and whose shapely bodies and cunning minds entranced all others, attempt to engage the dark Uchiha in some way. But he had never taken notice of them. So what could _she_, with her flat, boyishly-formed figure (which Ino took great pains to remind her of each day), and her naivety towards the world, have to interest him?

Unfortunately, it never occurred to Sakura's brilliant, quick-thinking mind that that might be _exactly_ what drew the elder Uchiha to her.

And despite what he said, Sakura, as much as it pained her to acknowledge, was hardly up to par with Itachi's level of abilities. She was still…still utterly weak compared with his elegant and deadly perfection both on the battle field and out of it. It was true that she was quickly rising in her aptitude for medical jutsu and related fighting techniques, with Tsunade-shishou and Kakashi's help, but…even Naruto and Sasuke were still stronger than her in leaps and bounds. What he could possibly see in her, or be attracted to…

It was mystifying.

Sakura felt a tremor go through her body at the remembrance of the kiss—and that undeniable warmth that seemed to always envelop her whenever he touched her, held her, even if he merely _smiled_ at her. She couldn't understand this, and it _frustrated_ her to no end, made her want to grab Itachi and slam him through a couple of trees and the hardest wall she could find, maybe throw a boulder or two at him from a short-range. She was so damn confused! And that stunt he had pulled last night hadn't done a thing to soothe her frazzled nerves whenever she was around that infuriating, irritating man!

Sakura rolled over, burying her face miserably into her pillow again as she repressed a scream of aggravation that threatened to escape from her lips. No doubt Shisui and Hana would hear and come bursting in to make sure their darling captain's_ helpless girlfriend_ wasn't being murdered in her sleep, she thought sourly. But she didn't understand it. And a part of her didn't _want_ to understand the implications of what Itachi had done, or the turmoil that was steadily boiling within her heart and mind over such a simple action.

She'd been kissed by a lot of people, after all, albeit on the cheek or forehead. Naruto was an overly physical person, and constantly needed reassuring and affectionate contact. Little pecks on the cheek and kisses on the head were common with him. Hell, even Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun had been known to give her the occasional hug or fond kisses, and they were two of the most emotionally repressed people she knew…barring Itachi, of course. She had had her share of fatherly hugs and motherly snuggles, and Lee regularly attempted to express his enthusiastic Love of the Springtime of Youth to her (though he never got far, thanks to quick-actions of an enraged Naruto and Sasuke). Grateful patients often gave her thankful embraces after successful healings, and even Tsunade-shishou sometimes lowered her guarded, gruff outside persona enough to give her favorite apprentice a one-armed hug or ruffling of the hair.

But she had never reacted to anyone else like she did with Itachi, and that was what had the widely-proclaimed genius kunoichi of the Rookie Nine so distraught and conflicted. She'd never had anyone affect her so much like that one, single, smug Uchiha did. Never wanted to prove herself so much to anyone, basked so much in any praise given, or had such emotions evoked in her that she could not help passionately reacting to whatever he said.

It was so overwhelming sometimes, and now it felt like it had all just culminated into one, giant heartache of uncertainty, all because of one, tiny action.

And Itachi didn't do things like this lightly, she admitted, dreading it as she did. In all of her years of knowing Sasuke and his family, she'd never seen him in an intimate relationship with another girl…hence the Team 7 conclusion that he was an asexual robotic experiment devised by the Uchiha to take over the world. And now, for a little over a month, she'd seen sides of him she'd never even thought to have existed, hadn't even dreamed of ever being exposed to. In such a short period, she'd interacted with him more than she ever had in the preceding years. Had learned more about him than she ever had in the former time of knowing him.

She'd experienced first-hand his concerned side, where he worried over her safety and that of his teammates, though he attempted not to show it, and the lighter, teasing part of Itachi that delighted in provoking her into fits of defiant anger. She knew the harshly professional ANBU Captain, but now she had been introduced to the actual flesh-and-blood person behind the mask. She knew the darkly handsome and reserved prodigy of the renowned Uchiha Clan, but now could see the devastatingly clever twenty-one year old man within who seemed, despite everything, to…like her. At least a little.

_But, he's still the same stoic Uchiha he's always been, _Sakura was quick to reassure herself. It was just…it was just difficult to view him as being _only_ that now, however. And she feared…a little impossible as well.

But…she couldn't think about his now. It would only hurt her more, and preoccupy her thoughts when she needed to be focusing on other things right now. Like restoring the relations between her village and Suna by teaching a room full of incompetent medic-nins.

She wouldn't gain anything by agonizing over it, she thought wearily as she sat up in her bed, allowing the covers to softly pool around her. Yawning over lost sleep, she ran a hand through her mussed pink locks. The best thing to do now was wait until Itachi came back from his mission…which, now that she thought about it, was supposed to be sometime today. Then, she intended on cornering him and solving this whole issue once and for all, even if she had to wrench it out of him by force.

A grim look of anticipation settled upon her features.

She was going to end this needless game between them that had begun only such a short time ago.

* * *

Sakura was shuffling papers on her desk impatiently, anxious to leave the deserted meeting room where her lesson had just finished. Lecture notes, lesson plans, copies of procedure directions for the students—she valiantly tried to gather them into something resembling a pile, before just giving up and shoving them all haphazardly into the messenger bag she had brought with her. She could always sort them out later, she figured.

Even more importantly, she was eager to escape the room where the medical lesson from hell had just occurred, courtesy of her novice students.

She felt like stabbing herself with a sharp and pointy kunai. It would be a relief after five consecutive hours of _that. _She just had have suggested they start on poisons, didn't she? One of the most difficult and taxing parts of medicine and healing to learn?

_Smart move, Sakura_, she berated herself, _real, real smart._

After two emergency interventions she had been forced to perform, and additional cases of incompetent classifications of what plants were dangerous and which were not, she was more than ready to admit that her idea hadn't been the brightest one she'd ever had.

And that was saying a _lot_, considering some of the more hare-brained schemes that Naruto had managed to rope her into when they had been young. And sometimes still did, on occasion.

She paused in her busy actions, rubbing her eyes with a small hand. She hadn't been able to catch much sleep the night before, thanks to her entangled thoughts and shaky emotions…sleep sounded like a really good idea to her right now. That, or a hot, steaming meal that she could gulp down…

POP!

Sakura's eyes shot open as a huge puff of smoke erupted before her, surrounding her form in an odorless cloud of thickness. She quickly waved her hands about, seeking to clear her blurred and obscured vision of the room. It was obvious that it was a summon of some sort, though she was unsure as to what it was or who it could possibly belong to.

She yelped as something big and utterly fat slammed down onto the wooden desk with a resounding thud, causing a small crack (appearing next to the one she'd made a day or so previously) to slowly spread across its surface in spidery little crevices.

After a moment, the smoke vanished into the atmosphere to reveal…

"Gamakichi!"

"Yo, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura let out a half-exasperated, half-joyful cry at the sight the bright orange toad now squatting happily on the top of her desk. Her eyes shone joyfully at the bit of Naruto and Konoha that was sitting there, giving her a much needed reminder of home. Her black, tired mood abruptly forgotten, she opened her arms in a welcoming gesture to the little toad before her.

The toad eagerly leapt into her arms, enthusiastic at seeing one of the few girls who could stand to have toads touch her. Usually all the others recoiled in disgusted horror at the sight of him, afraid he'd give them warts. And Sakura always smelled so good, like bright, cheerful flowers or sweet, colorful fruits. He could understand why the boss always liked to hug the pink-haired girl, for she was really quite comfortable.

Laughing, she patted the rough skin of his head, asking him contentedly, "What're you doing here, huh? Don't tell me Naruto kicked you out again for eating the last of his ramen."

"Nah. The big boss just wanted me to carry a message to you," the toad replied jovially, his familiarly high voice falling pleasantly upon Sakura's ears. Sakura grinned at how much his boisterous and loud attitude reminded her of Naruto. Like summoner, like summon, she supposed.

She rolled her eyes, though couldn't fight back a smile. "In other words, Naruto was worrying about me and wanted you to do a quick checkup." That blonde idiot, she thought fondly, always trying to look out for her.

Gamakichi nodded, gently hopping out from her arms and back onto the desk. "Yup. That about sums it up. The boss man never _was_ the most subtle guy in the world, was he?"

Sakura could only sigh in agreement. For the Number One Loudmouth Ninja of Konoha, the word "subtly" had absolutely no meaning at all. "Yes, but he means well."

"Broody wanted to make sure you were okay too. Though I think he'd die rather than own up it."

Sakura lightly giggled at Gamakichi's often-used nickname for Sasuke, one that had been heartily encouraged by Naruto, much to Sasuke's annoyance. Poor Sasuke, it really did fit him at times. "I see. So they're both doing alright there?"

Gamakichi's shoulders went up and down in what Sakura supposed was a shrug. "Guess so. The boss looks kinda unhappy lately. And ol' One-Eye had a pretty scary expression on his face last I saw him. He was threatening those two with becoming Gai's students." The toad shuddered at the thought of his boss having to serve under Bushy-Brows the Elder, as Naruto called him.

She raised a questioning eyebrow, shaking her head as she imagined what Sasuke and Naruto must have been up to in her absence to earn a threat of that magnitude from Kaka-sensei. "Oh? What did they do _now_?" She could only picture it…no, on second thought, she didn't even want to _try_ and picture what those dummies had gotten into during her absence. The last time she had left for a few days on a solo mission, she'd come back to discover that Naruto had snuck into the woman's bathhouse with his Sexy Jutsu to help Jiraiya-sama with his "research."

Shishou had beat the crap out of them good for that one. Sakura had only been sorry that she hadn't been there to join in on the fun.

The toad gave another nonchalant shrug. "No clue." He suddenly reached behind him, pulling out a sealed white envelope from beneath his shirt. "I promised the big boss I'd give this to you, though." The toad perked up, "He said he'll treat me to ramen the faster I give this to you!"

Sakura smiled at Naruto's ramen loving toad. She blamed him completely for being a bad influence on his summons, for there were now five of his toads that were completely addicted to the noodles of Ichiraku. She couldn't say that the owner delighted in having to cater to toads, but somehow she thought he didn't mind too much, seeing as it was _Naruto_, after all. No one could ever find the energy to be mad at or deny her blonde friend anything, it seemed.

"Thanks, Gamakichi," she told the little summon sweetly, reaching out to give him one more appreciative pat on the head. His bumpy, cold surface felt odd against her smooth fingers, as it always did. "Enjoy your ramen, ok?"

"Don't have to tell me twice, yup!" The toad spouted out energetically, eyes alit with anticipation at the thought of his promised meal.

Sakura laughed. "Make sure to give them my love."

"No problem, Sakura-chan. See ya later!"

Sakura stepped back a little as another burst of white appeared. Gamakichi's form disappeared just as quickly as it had come, his body melting into the swirl of opaque cloud that was common to all summons.

Him being gone, she subsequently turned her attention towards the folded paper inside the envelope, eagerly opening it and smoothing the creases from it. She was already preparing herself for a headache of bad grammar, atrocious spelling, and many, many, crossing outs.

And, sure enough, the paper in its entirety contained more errors than she would have thought to be possible, ink blots and apparent misspellings filling the whole page of unconnected, erratic handwriting. Naruto may have been one of the most powerful shinobi in Konoha, and possibly outside of it as well, but if he ever wanted to become Hokage he'd have to deal with the paper work that came with it. And that meant improving his handwriting.

Steeling herself for the challenge ahead, far more frightening than fighting Orochimaru and Kabuto combined: reading Naruto's letter. For simplicity's sake, Sakura translated the letter in her head, causing it to look something like this:

* * *

**Dear Sakura chan,**

**How are you doing over in Suna now? Did you get to see Gaara and give him my message? Make sure you remember to tell him I'm gonna become Hokage, I'm not far behind him, believe it! **_Idiot, you even _write_ your stupid catchphrases. Anyways, Sakura, make sure that you_ **Sorry Sakura chan, the teme stole my pen. Anyways **_what I was attempting to convey before the dobe interrupted me was that _**Dammit, Sasuke stop (**here Sakura couldn't read the words, for it looked like Sasuke and Naruto had been wrestling over the pen, resulting in a lot of unidentifiable scribbles)

**Alright, Sakura chan, me and the teme decided we'd each just write our own parts of the letter. Just make sure you stay safe okay? And if that bastard robot's bothering you we'll come over there right away, forget what Baa-chan says! I love you lots and lots, come home quick so you can tell Kaka-sensei to stop being such a hard-ass on us for things we had no control over. **

_Sakura_, _be on your guard while you're in Suna. Especially around my brother. And around Suna nin. In fact, you should view everyone as a potential enemy. Especially Itachi. Definitely Itachi. Tell him if he bothers you, I'll inform our mother about it. Try not to be annoying and don't stay too long in Suna (_Sakura couldn't help laughing at Sasuke's grumpy way of saying he missed her).

* * *

Sakura gently refolded the short letter, tucking it lovingly away into her waist pouch. It was so like Naruto and Sasuke, so typically _them_, that she could almost imagine them standing right next to her talking, Naruto in his usual over-hyper way and Sasuke with his usual scowl on his face as Naruto blabbered on. She couldn't stop the rush of warm love that coursed through her at the thought of them and their childish ways.

So they were worrying about her, hm? Though most of their warnings were dire ones about Itachi, she supposed it was the thought that counted. _I mean, what did they think I was going to do? Jump Itachi's bones the moment we were away from Konoha? _Sakura didn't bother to mention the fact that that situation wasn't too far from the truth, except vice-versa. Had Sasuke and Naruto knew how forward Itachi had been with her lately, they definitely wouldn't have sent a letter. Rather, they undoubtedly would have been here in person, ready to beat the living daylights out of the older Uchiha brother.

And she was utterly mystified over Gamakichi's and Naruto's hints about Kakashi-sensei being upset with Naruto and Sasuke. Obviously the two idiots had gone and done something to make him mad, but what could it have been? And it was odd that he should be angry with Sasuke-kun as well, usually it was only Naruto that caused Kaka-sensei to lose his patience.

She shook her head, deploring the amount of trouble those two could manage to get themselves into when she wasn't there. Next thing she knew Gamakichi would be coming to plead with her to spring them out of prison or something.

She let out an imperceptible breath of air, though couldn't help the small tilt of her lips.

It was better not to think of it.

* * *

A few minutes later, and Sakura was impatiently moving through the vast hallways of the Suna hospital, barely able to contain her eagerness at getting out. Normally she loved to spend as much time as she could in the hospital back in Konoha, working hard and long to aid as many as she could each day, but in Suna…she supposed it was a combination of unfamiliarity and being in a village that had a history of unfriendliness with Konoha that had her on edge half the time.

She was leaving a little before schedule today, in an attempt to evade Shisui and Hana's hovering selves. She could probably make it out of the hospital before they had even arrived, with any luck. All of her tries at shooing them away earlier had been in vain—they had firmly stuck to her side all the way to the hospital this morning, with ominous promises of returning in the evening when her lessons were over.

No doubt on strict orders from their captain.

She did truly like her teammates, and she understood their worry better than anyone, but she was beginning to feel her tolerance-capacity for over-protective idiots being pushed to the max.

Sakura was beginning to wish that a rebel Suna shinobi _woul_d attack her, just to relieve some of the boredom that she was sure Shisui and Hana were suffering from. Hell, _she_ could do with something to beat up upon right now, or, more fittingly, _someone_ to beat up upon.

Though the bright side of Itachi's absence was also the absence of his hardcore training with her, she was beginning to regret the missed chance of letting loose with her chakra-fists of destruction. She particularly regretted the loss of not being able to land a satisfactory punch in that smug Uchiha's—

Wait.

Sakura stiffened suddenly, that uncomfortable feeling of being watched slamming into her as she hurried through the corridors of the hospital, bringing all of her other thoughts to a screeching halt and immediately putting her senses on guard. Inner Sakura, in particular, was loudly yelling things inside her head.

For just a moment, a very, very short moment, she had thought she felt the lightest touch of chakra.

And it hadn't been friendly.

Her reaction was hardly an unusual one for most shinobi—not when being attacked was an occurrence that happened on a regular basis, and staying alive was your first priority.

The worst part of being a shinobi: the sensation of being watched was nearly always right. Ninja didn't exactly have the luxury of being one of those normal people who just shrugged off any suspicions, Sakura thought grimly as she carefully glanced around her, body tensed. Instincts were your best friend in the business, and weren't likely to lead you wrong. Well…unless you were impulsive Naruto, but that was a different matter.

She held her breath, listening closely in the apparent silence. Everything was quiet, no sign of a person or creature in the deserted halls.

It wasn't a doctor, nurse, or student following her then.

But Inner Sakura didn't usually give her false warnings, and right now, she was making quite a racket inside of Sakura's skull. If there wasn't anyone showing themselves, and someone was purposefully hiding their chakra, then there was definitely something suspicious going on.

Well, it might have been a med-nin student with a grudge, she reasoned, still scanning her surroundings. One of those who were thoroughly unhappy with Suna's perceived submission to Konoha, and with Gaara's alliance with the Hidden Leaf Village. One of the shinobi Itachi was worried were going to attempt and take their revenge out on her.

Maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to wish for a fight. It looked like someone was trying to fulfill that wish. And if she ended up killing a Suna shinobi, no matter the reason, she had a feeling that Tsunade would have her head.

Accursed politics.

She was beginning to see the reason Itachi wanted either himself, Shisui, or Hana with her in the event that something like this occurred. They were specifically trained in how to successfully apprehend an opponent, and were much more in control of their attacks, what with their years of working as ANBU. Sakura, however, was less so. She _could_ render someone incapacitated during a fight, but it was an ability that still needed to be perfected. If she seriously fought someone, more often than not they ended up gravely injured, whether she intended it or not.

Why today, of all days, did she have to try and give Shisui and Hana the slip? Not that she couldn't handle herself if attacked, but if handling herself meant causing an intervillage incident?

Not good.

Tampering down her rising panic over the consequences of any violent situation, and trying to avoid from being overly suspicious (dammit, Itachi must have been rubbing off on her), she casually allowed her hand to drift down near the kunai pouch on her leg. Just in case, she told herself firmly. Don't act rashly, it could be nothing.

She continued walking, though she slowed down her pace considerably, attempting to appear as though nothing was amiss. Every step she took seemed doubly loud in the hall, echoing in her ears as they strained to hear any sign of another set of footsteps or movements following her. Her eyes calmly swept the length of the hallways, and she began softly extending her chakra detection ever so slightly around her, trying to regain that brief flair of energy she had picked up for a second earlier—

Grinning in enormous satisfaction when she caught the tiniest hint of chakra before its owner squashed it out of sight again.

_Got ya._

Well, at least she had evidence. Whoever was following her clearly wasn't hanging around for a social visit.

Now to catch them in the act.

She began to walk faster, confident that her mysterious stalker would follow if she was indeed the target. Mentally drawing up a crude map of the hospital in her head, she decided it was best if she could get back to the general area of the meeting rooms she'd just left—those were usually empty about this time of day. There wouldn't be anyone around to interfere.

That and there was plenty of space in them for a good ass-kicking.

_It's a simple enough plan_, she figured, her short, rapid strides carrying her towards the conference rooms. _Catch whatever bastard decided to mess with me, then lighten my _really_ bad mood by interrogating him…or possibly beating him to a pulp if he _really_ asks for it. _

It took her less than a minute to navigate the interconnected halls of the hospital, her agility and speed lending to her advantage in the situation. She reached the general area that held the various conference rooms of the hospital, quickly choosing one and slipping inside, her back to the door as she went in.

And surely enough, only a few seconds later, she sensed her pursuer enter the room, eliciting a self-pleased grin from Sakura. Now to just find out what the hell this person was after.

Spinning around on her heel, hand already reaching into her pouch, she began sending chakra to her fist in a steady stream, ready to counter if attacked—

Only to be met with the sight of a very old, very wrinkly squat women standing in the middle of the room impassively, her arms crossed over her bulky outfit as she stared blankly at Sakura.

….

….

….

….

_What the--?_

Sakura blinked, fighting off the blush as she took in the picture before her, feeling more and more foolish by the second.

An…old woman? With copious amounts of grey hair and brown age spots on her face? With deep wrinkles engraved around her eyes and a puckered old mouth?

That was what she'd been worried about?

She wanted to slap herself as hard as she could in the forehead. How paranoid had Itachi made her with all of his warnings that she'd been about to attack an old lady?

_Stupid, stupid Sakura!_ She chastised herself.

Still…it couldn't hurt to be on her guard. Appearances were deceiving, as Sakura herself was a living example of. And it was foolish to underestimate anyone merely based on their age, no matter how droopy their face looked or how frumpy they dressed, looking like someone's decrepit grandmother.

Cautiously, Sakura let go of her kunai pouch, curiously glancing at the old woman, who was _still_ continuing to stare at her in a most unnerving way, her baggy eyes not once leaving her face.

To Sakura, it almost seemed as though she was…sizing her up.

Well, she had never been one to back down from a challenge. She stayed quiet, not making any sound or movement as she looked the elder straight in the eye, refusing to give in to her odd, but subtly intimidating, gaze.

They stood that way for a few moments, the distant sounds of the hospital lobby and the rushing of doctors and patients making only faint disturbances to their minds.

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when a wicked smirk appeared on the wizened old face before her, though to her credit she managed to compose herself before she actually did so. The ancient woman was still staring at Sakura, though now it was with a touch of incredulity, her eyes pierced with a look of laughter. Sakura felt herself tensing in response, her hands clenching as she caught the look of depreciating amusement in the old crone's face. It was obvious she knew who Sakura was, though Sakura couldn't understand why she had been sought out if the old lady clearly disapproved of her. She hadn't missed the nasty glare her Leaf hitai-ate had been sent either.

"Heh."

A raspy croak came from the woman's sagging mouth, startling Sakura. The laugh was unpleasant, and was mockingly loud.

"Aheh, heh."

Sakura's eyes had now darkened to an intense green, the angered bewilderment beginning to build up, though she tried to press it back down. Desperately, she reigned it in, remembering Tsunade's threats of graveyard duty at the hospital forevermore if she screwed this mission up. She sure as heck wasn't going to jeopardize her career for the sake of a creepy old lady who insisted on following and looking down on her.

"Heh, heh," the ancient lady snorted, never drawing her eyes away from Sakura's form. "Ahaha! Ahahaha!"

And in less than a minute, she had erupted into full-laughter, much to the displeased bafflement of a thoroughly surprised Sakura.

_Is this old lady _insane_?_ Sakura thought frantically, carefully edging away from the doubled over woman, who was still chuckling in her creaky voice. _First she stalks me, then she stares at me without blinking for minutes, and now she's laughing like Shishou on one of her mood swing days? What is _up_ with the people in Suna?_

Belatedly, she wondered if the woman had escaped from the mental wing of the hospital. She certainly seemed crazy enough for it. Maybe she should try to reason with her…offer her help?

"Er…excuse me?" She tried hesitantly, green eyes softening as she realized the woman might now have been in her right mind. They didn't have many mentally disabled patients at the Konoha hospital, so she was slightly unsure as to how to go about approaching this situation. "Are you…I mean…do you need any help to—"

"Haruno-san!"

Sakura spun around, rejoicing at the familiar voice and the highly welcome intrusion. Her green eyes lit up at the sight of Takano Shinji's familiar face, comforted by the smile he was wearing. Maybe Takano-san would be able to help the woman, she reflected, relieved, as she turned back to glance at the elderly lady. He was, after all, one of the head med-nin here, so he should know just exactly who this—

_What?_

Her eyes widened slightly.

The old lady…was gone, insane laughter and all.

"Haruno?"

But…how had she not even noticed her go? And where had she gone? _How_ had she gone? They were in a room with only one exit, and Sakura had been facing it at the time. Her pink brows furrowed in concentration, mind rapidly analyzing it. Had it been a teleportation jutsu? But no, they usually left behind some sort of chakra residue, and she couldn't sense any.

"Haruno-san? Are you alright?"

She slowly turned again to look at her companion, beyond confused at that point. Takano's warm golden eyes were regarding her curiously, obviously wondering about her apparent puzzlement. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, making her blink and respond to the question in his face.

"A-ah. I mean, yes, I am," she said reassuringly, giving him a small smile as she did so. Then, "Takano-san, did you happen to see…?"

She stopped, unsure if she should ask him or not. She didn't exactly fancy looking like a crazy person. She'd had enough of crazy people for one day, after all.

He prompted her, "Did I see what?"

She glanced back at where the peculiar person had just been only moments ago, her thoughts very far away from the conversation.

Maybe it was a genjutsu?

No, she thought, discarding that idea. Sakura was fairly skilled at recognizing signs and chakra patterns indicating genjutsus, and there hadn't been any. Besides, who would have wanted to make an illusion of a scary old baa-san following her? The only thing was: how had that woman disappeared so quickly, and without Takano-san noticing? It was possible that she had been a shinobi…but even most shinobi, except the most skilled, would be hard put to flee that quickly, and Takano-san had been close enough that he surely would have seen her.

But…maybe she was just overthinking it. It might have meant nothing at all, anyways, she thought hastily, trying to dispel the remaining fragments of discomfort lingering in her mind.

"…Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

Realizing that his hand was still settled in a gentle grasp on her shoulder, Sakura stepped back a little, forcing him to let go. "Yes, I'm fine. I was…just imagining things."

"I see," he responded cautiously, seeing her still-far off expression.

Sakura's mind, still preoccupied with the recent happening, missed the sudden devious look that appeared in Takano's eyes.

"I am glad I ran into you once again."

"Aa," she replied blankly, wondering if perhaps the old woman had had some sort of unique transportation jutsu? It was entirely possible—she didn't know what sort of kekkai genkai Suna had.

"I was hoping to catch you before you left," he told the thoughtful pinkette, a slight smile on his lips.

The only attempt she could make a speech was a distracted "Mmhmm."

"After all, I believe we had an interrupted lunch from yesterday to attend to, Haruno-san."

"Uh-huh."

* * *

Sakura, for the second time in two days, found herself sitting down to a meal that she had essentially been dragged to.

It wasn't that Takano-san was bad company—on the contrary, he was pleasant to talk with, and she had found him so far to be extremely knowledgeable on subjects pertaining to medicine and healing. The small café he had taken her to was quiet and had an enjoyable atmosphere, reminding her of the small places she and her friends often frequented back in Konoha.

All in all, she was happy to have made a new friend amidst the alien territory she now found herself in. Given, she was still wary of him, but it had never been in her nature to be too mistrustful. Besides, if she spent all her time giving in to old prejudices between the two rival villages, she would just be another one of those bigoted, narrow-minded idiots who couldn't overcome past disagreements. It was interesting to learn how different Suna's way of life was, and yet at the same time how similar it was to Konoha's. Sakura had always loved learning beyond anything else, and she had found that the best teacher, by far, was simply going out and experiencing it for yourself.

And that was what she intended to do in Suna. Somewhere between the medical lessons and annoying teammates, that is.

Sakura smiled genially at the person sitting across from her, her full stomach contributing to her happy air.

"Thank you for the meal," she chirped, sighing in fulfillment.

"No, thank _you_ for accompanying me," he said, in his usual mannered way.

"I'm sorry to take up lots of your time like this," she said ruefully, stretching her hands out on the table absentmindedly. "I know you must be busy with your medic duties." Goodness knows that she had enough experience in how busy the life of a med-nin was to understand.

"It was a great pleasure for me," he replied quietly. "There is no need to apologize."

She laughed, unsure. "Ah. But really, you don't need to go out of your way to keep me entertained."

His voice held clear confusion. "You…believe this is a chore for me?"

Sakura cocked her head to the side a little, considering how to answer. "Well…I just didn't want to be a nuisance," she said, shrugging. After all, it had to be a little taxing, taking out a sixteen year old chunin to lunch just because you had to keep up the appearance of good relations. Undoubtedly Gaara had ordered all of his shinobi to be as courteous as possible, just as Tsunade had to her, Itachi, Shisui, and Hana.

Her thoughts were broken by the sound of quiet laughter.

"Erm, Takano-san?" She raised an eyebrow at his mirth. "What is it?"

His laughs dying off, he asked amusedly, "You believe you are a nuisance?"

She looked at him, startled, when he gently covered her hand with his, warm gold eyes holding hers with an unsettling gleam.

"Is it not obvious why I enjoy spending time with you, Haruno-san?" He asked softly in his rich voice, a half-smile illuminating his stunning features.

Sakura could only look at their hands. Then piece his words into an actual sentence. And then let her brilliant mind process everything.

Oh. _Oh_.

Wait.

What?

Sakura was panicking, fairly disturbed at this new situation.

Well this was…sudden. And unexpected. And kinda unwelcome. And she had been having a good time too, darn it. Why did he have to go and say something like _this?_

Dammit, what was _she_ supposed to _say_? What was she supposed to _do_? Things like this didn't happen to her, they happened to strikingly good-looking, flirty girls like Ino and Temari. Not outgoing, quick-tempered, pink-haired Sakuras!

She sighed heavily, already mourning the loss of the nice atmosphere she'd been experiencing.

_Polite, Sakura, reject him politely,_ she ordered herself firmly.

However, her mouth spoke before she got a chance to censor her words.

"I'm flattered, but you don't even really know me," she pointed out bluntly, her good-natured air abruptly evaporating and replaced with pure, unadulterated tension.

So much for polite. But then again, she'd never been the best at being a smooth-talking kiss-up when it came to men. She'd always left that to Ino.

She tugged her hand a little, hoping to free it from Takano's grasp. It felt wrong, and was extremely discomforting, and not in the butterflies-in-your-stomach sort of way. _More like in the I'm-not-attracted-to-this-person-so-why-the-hell-doesn't-he-let-me-go type of feeling_, she moaned grouchily, still trying to extract her hand as gently as possible. His was a light bronze, and far too large, making her feel nastily trapped…and for a very, very brief moment she found herself comparing it with the firm, elegantly-shaped one that always captured her hand in such an infuriatingly arrogant manner…the battle-hardened ones that always made her want to blush and lash out all at once.

With this guy…it just felt plain awkward.

He was the sort of man she had always envisioned herself to enter into a relationship with. Intelligent, a mutual passion for the same profession, sweetly handsome, and very safe to entrust her heart to. Someone who resembled her in many ways, someone she could easily relate with and talk to. And it wasn't that she didn't find him physically attractive, or intellectually appealing. It wasn't even the fact that she hadn't known him for more than a week. On the contrary, she respected him greatly as a fellow med-nin and her superior but…

His wavy brown hair wasn't raven black locks, loosely tied back in a semblance of carelessness. Eyes of golden pools held no comparison with dark orbs of blue, mocking and melting all at once. His naturally tanned skin, a beautiful dusty brown mixed with a lighter white, did not strike her as much as smoothly pale skin, marred with healed scars and contrasting beautifully with dark hair, creating an ethereal image. His smile was too kind, and showed far too often and with little hesitation, his face so open that she could read his emotions without trouble…so different from that visage that was always so impassive, that frustrated her to no end, that she could never unlock…

He wasn't…he just wasn't…

He didn't really make her _feel_…well, anything passionate, or strong…not like…

She couldn't believe she was even thinking this.

She sighed, fighting the urge to allow her head to smash down onto the table.

Maybe it would knock some sense into her clearly confused brain.

Ignoring her faint attempts to free her hand (Sakura wondered if he knew that if she _really _pulled, she could easily rips his whole arm off), he replied calmly to her earlier statement, "That can be rectified, Haruno-san."

She let out a perturbed breath of air, shutting her eyes for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "Takano-san, look, I really don't—"

"I am not asking for anything more than for you to consider me, Haruno-san."

"You're…asking me out, though?" Sakura said haltingly.

"If you wish to put it that way, then, yes."

_Diplomatic, be diplomatic…dammit, where's Naruto and Sasuke when you need a jealous manly intervention? _"I'm, I mean, thank you for the offer, but I really enjoy just being associates with you," Sakura came up with finally, trying to smile as she said it. _There_, _that ought to have done the trick_, she mused in palpable relief. The message couldn't have been any clearer that that. Takano-san, being smart and mostly considerate, would hopefully get it…

"I would like to get to know you better."

_Guess not_, she moaned inside her head. Really, did some people have to have it dropped on their heads before they took a hint?

"I don't mind that, but not in the way you're asking," was her uneasy answer, her free hand reaching up to distractedly push back a stray lock of hair.

"Are you afraid of one, small date with me?" He questioned, an amused look on his face. His voice had a clear edge of challenge laced onto it, making her scowl as she realized he was baiting her.

"No!" She bristled, biting her lip as she saw him laughing, one hand resting across his eyes before he lifted it.

Still chuckling quietly, he told her, "You are completely naïve, _Sakura-san."_ He smiled, golden eyes dancing. "But I suppose that is what makes you very charming."

**Sakura-san?**_** When the hell did we ever give this guy permission to use our name?Shānnarō! Punch him in the nose for his freshness!**_Inner Sakura shouted, though Sakura wasn't quite sure if it wasn't her shouting it inside her head as well. She was a bit surprised that her innermost self was making an appearance, for she'd been mostly dormant for a while now.

Dryly, she questioned her inner self, _I thought you liked him?_

…_**it doesn't sound as good as when that hot Uchiha says it.**_

..._I see._

Takano paused, keen eyes searching her twitching expression. With a crafty look, he said vaguely, "I believe I understand why you are so hesitant, Sakura-san."

_**Dammit, he used our first name again! Get a hint, we're not interested!**_

"Eh?" She squeaked blankly, not understanding where he was going with that.

"Is it that another already has claim over your heart?"

That caught her attention. Her head snapped up, her face immediately grew defensive as her heart gave a small sputter. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" She demanded indignantly, green eyes narrowing at the implications.

Takano merely smiled slightly, raising an eyebrow at her. "Why, I was referring to your captain, Uchiha-san."

"And what about my captain?" She shot back, hand-holding long forgotten in the face of her rising ire.

"You are lovers, are you not?" He said, his expression completely guileless and expectant. "It is only logical, from his protectiveness of you the other day."

"L-lov—" She sputtered in disbelief, her eyes huge and dazed. _Lovers? Lovers?_ Did she and Itachi honestly give off the vibe that they were _lovers_? If they were, it was all that bastard Uchiha's fault! She was only sixteen, she hadn't even had her first proper kiss yet!

_Lovers!_ She snorted in her mind, laughing at the sheer stupidity of the idea. She'd rather date a one-eyed fish with bad breath! She'd rather propose undying devotion to Jiraiya! Hell, she'd even rather marry Rock Lee and suffer his eyebrows for all eternity! Oh, Naruto and Sasuke were going to laugh their heads off when they heard about this.

...Or kill her dead, whichever came first.

That did it. Everything that Sakura had been agonizing over came to a head as she abruptly yanked her hand easily out of a surprised Takano's grip. Her heart was beating fit to burst just at the mere _idea_ of…the complete ridiculousness of it all…

Summoning her best glare, her green eyes blazing with a furious fire, and pink hair floating around her face, she said coolly, "Please don't make stupid assumptions."

It was clear to Takano that he had crossed a special line, the young woman's expression filled with outrage and strangely…conflicted. The brown-haired med-nin suppressed a grin, his sharp gaze triumphant as he observed her.

How interesting.

Slowly, the man replied, "Aa. Forgive me, Haruno-san. I merely thought that you and Uchiha-san…appeared to be rather close." His face was now apologetic, but Sakura found herself noticing more the far-too-intrigued look in his eyes. "Yours did not appear to be a normal senpai-kouhai relationship."

"Well, you thought wrong," she returned shortly, not caring if she seemed rude. After all, _he_ was the one prying into her private life. She was becoming more agitated and unnerved at this whole event by the minute. "That's all it is, and there's absolutely nothing more."

She was so getting out of here.

Quickly, she stood up, plastering on a falsely cheerful smile that didn't express her true mood at all. Had her face actually reflected what she was feeling, small kittens and flowers would have keeled over from the force of her glare. "I'm sorry, Takano-san, I had better go."

"No, please, Haruno-san," he interrupted softly, his inquisitive nature disappearing as fast as it had come. "I'm truly sorry—"

_And I'm truly sorry that I really want to punch your face in right now._

"— if I made you uncomfortable."

_Understatement of the year, buddy,_ Sakura thought sourly.

"I will not bring up the matter again," he finished, a penitent smile on his lips. "It was rude of me."

She couldn't find the manners to disagree with that. Anyways, he himself had been the one to say it, not her. "Yes, it was."

"Thank you for being honest with me," he inclined his head, his words simple and direct.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, inwardly sighing as she saw that he did, well, _look_ like he was sorry. At least he was willing to apologize, she grumbled to herself. Despite the fact that his intentness on the subject had been weird, as well as his fixation on her and Itachi…it wasn't like a person didn't have the right to confess to someone. Though she didn't regret it, she _had_ been a little harsh on him.

Ugh. Curse her soft heart. Shishou always told her she had to be not so sympathetic all the time.

Letting out an exasperated breath, she began, "Takano-san—"

"Ah hah! Found ya!"

* * *

Sakura froze at the sound of the new voice, rough and tomboyish, followed by the tell-tale bark of Hachiko and Shisui's loud complaint of: "Sakura, why didn't you just wait for us to come get you?"

Darn it. She thought it would have taken them a lot longer to find her. She had known that Hana's tracking abilities were good, but not _that_ good. Still, she couldn't say that she was completely unhappy with their interruption.

Sakura and Takano turned, the latter wearing a look of perturbed surprise before carefully replacing it with a calm mask. Both were met with the sight of an irate Shisui and a evidently victorious Hana. Both started talking at the same time, their voices intermingling in a blur of words.

"Sakura, do you realize that we nearly went crazy with worry—"

"Two _hours_ following your trail in this damn sun—"

"—thought you'd been kidnapped! If something happened to you—"

"—and the heat, and the sand! Oh God, this sand, it's like a damn plague—"

"—not that I don't think you can't hold your own, but if you were killed Itachi'd kill us, and I sort of value my life—"

"—It's bad enough we've gotta sit around doing nothing all day, but making us chase you around's not my idea of fun either, pinky—"

"—so, it's not the smartest thing to go walking around in a village where we're not popular, that you don't even _know_—"

"Excuse me," Takano's voice cut in, putting a halt to the tirade of the two belligerent ninja.

All three of the Konoha shinobi glanced at the brown-haired Suna med-nin, Hana and Shisui appearing disgruntled at their lectures being interrupted before they had even really gotten going with them. Hana, for one, was shooting him a very nasty glare for cutting in, making Sakura grin at her team member's hot-tempered disposition.

"I was escorting Haruno-san," Takano told them reassuringly. "There is no cause for worry."

Hana snorted at that. "No offense, whoever-the-hell-you-are, but you're—mmph!"

Shisui clasped a hand over Hana's mouth, hauling her body against his so he could keep a firm grip on his temperamental friend. Though Sakura pitied Hana, it was the best course of action before she ended up insulting Suna.

Smiling as easily as he could while holding a furiously struggling teammate, Shisui asked, "Takano, right? We met a little while ago, at the hospital." At the other man's nod of remembrance, Shisui continued cheerfully, "Thanks for keeping Sakura company." He shot the girl in question a teasing look. "She gets so lonely when Itachi's not around!" He threw in mischievously, though, to Sakura, it seemed as though he were…warning Takano-san off?

That interfering Uchiha. She wasn't Itachi's girlfriend!

Both Sakura and Hana glared at him for his thoughtless words. Sakura felt like smacking him over the head, in particular. Dammit, why didn't he just announce to the whole world that Itachi wasn't in Suna?

"I would have thought him to be with you," Takano commented idly. "I would have liked to speak with Uchiha-san again."

_Shisui, you idiot! _Sakura wanted to shout at him. _You don't advertise to everyone you meet that Itachi's off doing other things!_ Honestly, wasn't Shisui in ANBU? Secrecy and discretion should have been his middle name!

Shisui had obviously realized his small slip up as well, for Sakura was actually impressed when he lied smoothly, "Mm, sorry. Our captain's preoccupied with the Kazekage-sama right now."

"Of course," Takano said in understanding. "I will speak with Uchiha-san when he is not so busy."

Sakura and Hana allowed their bodies to relax, though both still looked murderous. Shisui looked as though he could feel their violent auras creeping up on him, ready to pounce, for he cleared his throat nervously.

Changing the subject, he began, with stark disapproval in his dark eyes, "Anyways, Sakura-chan—"

Deciding to skip the pending lecture, more than ready to call it a day, and thoroughly tired of everyone by now, she interrupted him, saying swiftly, "I'm going back to the hotel, Shisui-san, Hana-san."

Her green eyes began to shine menacingly when they opened their mouths, obviously preparing to argue with her. She supposed she sounded firm enough, because both shrugged. "Alone," she added, when she saw that they were intending to follow her.

"Sakura, don't be—"

"And if I catch even a hint of someone coming after me, they're going to be sent through a damn wall!" She finished, voice blazing with annoyance and eyes serious.

Her warning successfully delivered, she gave a brief nod to Takano-san, and turned on her heel, banging the door of the café open as she strode out, black boots thumping in tandem with her quick movements.

* * *

Normally, it most likely would have taken Sakura about twenty minutes at a normal walking speed to get back to the hotel.

However, for a furiously stomping Sakura, it took ten. She half regretted the fact that neither Shisui nor Hana had followed her, for it robbed her of the chance to carry through with her threat and relieve some of the steam that had been building up inside of her head all day.

She ascended the steps within the hotel, heavy feet clumping on each one.

She was mentally exhausted, which was to be expected after a day of annoying students nearly poisoning themselves during the lesson, weird old ladies stalking her during the afternoon, and unexpected proposals being made to her when she was already being chased by the most persistent man of them all. Being constantly followed by her teammates had just been the final straw that broke her aching back.

She perked up minutely when she finally reached the landing that her room was on, wearily pushing open the door leading into the corridor. Only a few more steps, and she would be able to curl up in bed, maybe send Sasuke-kun, Naruto, and Kaka-sensei a message with one of her summons.

She smiled in anticipation, allowing her eyes to gently close—maybe she'd even make a batch of brownies. She hadn't done that in ages, not since (she grimaced at the memory) that entire fiasco with Itachi a few weeks ago. They would be thick, sugary ones that she could eat while bemoaning the curse that was men. True, it was something that was best enjoyed with another person, preferably a girl…maybe she could invite Hana over. She would probably be willing enough to criticize the male race over a plate of comfort food.

Yes, that sounded nice, and relaxing.

Sakura sighed softly, eyes opening again…

She gasped in horror, the sound escaping from frozen lips.

Her footsteps slowed, her hand gradually stilling on the polished handrail in the corridor, fingers curling around it tightly.

For in front of her, in a splattered trail of red leading down the hallway, were large splashes of brightly colored blood.

The shock lasted only a minute before the kunoichi took over. She swiftly bent down, her eyes narrowing as her medic side dominated her senses. Gingerly, she skimmed a finger across one of the small puddles of red liquid.

It was still warm.

That meant it was fresh.

Her body tensed, adopting alertness, and her gaze scanned the area for any other sign of an oddity. Someone had been here, wounded, only what must have minutes ago. Either that or there had been a fight of some sort.

Her heart skipped a beat—had someone been unexpectedly attacked, perhaps? Hana or Shisui? Had they made it back to the hotel before she had? It was entirely possible, if they had left right after her. Rapidly, she did a rough calculation in her head as she quickly stood up, moving again. The blood was still warm, if they had come back to the hotel before her…if someone had been lying in wait for them…in the minutes it had taken her to get to the hotel a fight could have happened…

No one bled this much unless they were seriously hurt, as she knew all too well from her time as an experienced medic-nin. Usually when people bled this much, it meant that they were dead.

Or very, very close to it.

Determinedly shoving her worry to the back of her mind, she swiftly sprinted down the length of the corridor, her senses keenly attuned to any sign of a chakra that was threatening or dangerous. The red-smeared hallway was her guide, her sandals becoming stained as she followed the path of crimson, her heart pulsing in frantic beats as it seemingly rose up into her tight throat.

_Please, please, please let everyone be alright,_ she prayed fleetingly. _Don't let anyone be dead._

Sakura rounded the corner of the hallway, narrowly avoiding slipping on the slick floor as she turned, glancing hurriedly at the floor. Shisui and Hana's rooms were down at the end of this hall, so if either of them were wounded she could get to them quickly enough. Itachi definitely wasn't back yet, he would have immediately come to bother her if he was, she comforted herself. That left her other two teammates, unless it was someone else in the building that had been hurt this badly.

The doors to their rooms were coming into view now, a quick look around the hall told her nothing else was amiss, with no sign of any sort of fight or struggle, but…

Her breath caught.

Her pace slowed down abruptly as she carefully stepped along the line of crimson, her green eyes widening in sudden, striking comprehension.

The blood didn't lead to either Hana's or Shisui's doors. It stopped short, not even staining the floor a few rooms down where her two teammates dwelled.

Though she now knew that both her comrades were safe, the dread and anxiety didn't leaver her, only growing worse and more intense as she stared at the object before her. It had smatterings of blood on it, with the liquid dripping in a steady flow off the brass handle of the door where someone had touched it to open it.

The door all that blood had led her to…

….was the entrance to Itachi's room.

* * *

Haha, I was typing this up, and my spell check kept trying to change "Itachi" to the word "Itch". Sorry, but that just cracked me up while I was writing, trying to imagine Sakura's heart being captured by "Uchiha Itch".

I'll shut up now. :P

Anyways, it's really inexcusable for me to not have updated this for so long, so I made the chapter a lot longer than it is usually cause I was feeling somewhat guilty :P. It's just that I'm graduating from school this year, and have a whole host of difficult tests at the end that really require a LOT of preparation and studying. So it saps away my time and energy dedicated to writing. I have to say thank you so much though, to all my readers and reviewers, because I was totally blown away by the fact that this story now has over 10,000 hits! You guys are honestly the greatest, best-est, wonderful-est, loveliest, coolest, superb-est people ever, and your comments bring a lot of light into my stressful life! ^_^

And just for everyone, there will be a nice big ItaSaku moment in the next chapter, to make up for Itachi's absence in this chapter…thankfully Sakura's got her head a little clear on the Itachi issue, and her heart's sloooowly but surely giving in…I hope. But not right away, just to make that clear. She's not head over heels in love with him…yet.

****SPOILER ALERT: So, now for DecidedlyPositive's usual OMG moment about the manga. I know it's a little late, but Itachi's still dead. Much to my displeasure. And sadness. And the fangirlish tears I shed when I discovered this haha. Darn it, how did I just KNOW that it was going to be a genjutsu? Kudos to those who predicted that in their reviews last chapter :P. But, on the positive side, it looks like Karin's dead! Not that I actually hate her (though her obsession with Sasuke freaked me out a bit), but I thought it was kinda scary how far Sasuke would go for revenge… So, what did you guys think about the latest events of Naruto?

I appreciate constructive criticism, helpful tips, or just plain ol' happy comments, so please leave a review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if my empty wallet is anything to go by… :P**

Whoa! An update!

* * *

Two days earlier…

_In a heavily wooded area, near a town situated not far from Suna, a soft thump caused the branch of an oak to bend slightly, leaves rustling quietly as a figure landed smoothly upon the tree's extension. After several moments passed in utter silence, the dark figure unfolded his lithe body from his precarious crouch upon the gnarled branch, luminous red eyes glowing frighteningly in the suffocating darkness that the man's form seemed to blend into effortlessly. _

_Itachi glanced at the darkened sky, absent of both moon and stars, before lifting his hands quickly, fingers blurring with the speed in which he formed the required signs. _

_In an instant a soft puff of smoke, the tale-tell mark of a summons, appeared before him, a proud-looking hawk emerging from the hazy cloud. Like his master, he was quite a beautiful specimen of his species, exotic colors clashing on his feathers in a prime picture of majesty. _

"_Itachi-sama." The voice of the hawk rumbled regally, deep and calming. _

_Itachi, not replying, merely bent down in one fluid action, slipping a tightly-bound scroll from his back pouch as he did so. With even movements, he rapidly fastened the scroll around his summon's feathered neck, before drawing back to look squarely in the hawk's golden orbs. _

"_Masaru," he intoned quietly, though with a distinct air of command. "Take this back to Konoha, as quickly as possible."_

_Masaru inclined his head at the order, before fixing Itachi with a piercing gaze._

"_You have found them, then?"_

"_So it would seem."_

_Something similar to a snort was released from the hawk. "Is it wise to entangle yourself in this?" Masaru queried, evident concern coloring his stern voice as he stared steadily at the man he had known since early boyhood. _

_Itachi allowed a faint, but rare, smile to appear, gently laying a pale hand on Masaru's sleek plumes. "Aa. Do not concern yourself, Masaru."_

_The summon paused for a moment, seeming as though he would reply, before simply nodding. _

"_Very well, Itachi-sama. I will depart for Konoha. I presume this is meant for the Hokage?"_

"_Yes."_

_Masaru shifted on his clawed feet, feathers brushing together silently. Though obviously reluctant to leave, he was nothing but loyal to the Uchiha that had tenaciously raised him. "Then I ask this of you: Please be wary, Itachi-sama."_

_With that, another puff of furling smoke, and he was gone, leaving behind his master, who looked on as the smoke dissipated into the night air. Itachi swiftly stood, brushing black bangs from his eyes as he stared off into the night, mentally calculating the required time for his return trip to Suna. Two days had passed in abrupt succession, his investigations assigned to him by Tsunade yielding only grim results. The Kazekage would need to be informed of events as well, making the need for a hasty journey back to Suna all the more necessary._

_And, in tandem with thoughts of return, Itachi couldn't deny that the need to see Sakura was becoming rather…annoying at this point, for she had been plaguing his mind like a relentless buzzing for the extent of his time away, thoughts of her, and her safety, never far from the forefront of all that preoccupied his head. _

_Still, Itachi thought darkly, body tensing as he picked up the sudden spike in chakra behind him, it seemed that his arrival in Suna would be delayed somewhat. Almost casually he turned, Sharingan blazing at the two newly-arrived figures, their black cloaks, embroidered with ominous red clouds, darker even then the shadows of the night._

"_Well, well, look what we have here, danna. It's the Uchiha, un. Do I get to show him my art now?"_

* * *

It wasn't Hana or Shisui.

It…was…

It was…

_No…_

Sakura was afraid, even as she hurried to the door, fingers scrabbling frantically at the door handle. She could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest, suddenly thumping out an erratic pattern that hadn't been there before.

Her hands slipped as she tried to grasp the handle, the wet blood coating the knob making it near impossible to do so.

"Come on, stupid thing!" She growled lowly, swearing at it. "Open up, dammit!" Giving up on it after a second, she lifted a hand and banged it loudly on the door, calling out anxiously, "Itachi! Itachi, are you in there?"

The door shook with the force of her hits, the front of it splintering a little where she slammed her fists.

_He's not answering. He's not answering_. It was like mantra in the back of her mind, echoing within her head with a pounding rhythm.

"Itachi! I'm going to break the door down if you don't open it!" She shouted, worry and anger mixing within her voice, belying the panic that had seeped into her heart. "Uchiha!"

There was still no answer, and as much as she strained to hear, she could not detect any hint of movement or sound within the room behind the door.

_Right. The door's going down_, she thought heatedly, already pulling her fist back to demolish the obstacle she now found blocking her from something extremely important.

She channeled no chakra to her fist.

She didn't need any.

Then, to Sakura's immense surprise, the door opened.

Her breathing halted.

"What is it, Sakura?"

Sakura told herself that she must have been imagining the rush of relief that coursed through her as the voice she hadn't heard for two days echoed slightly in the empty hallway, though it was lower then usual and sounded a little strained.

Sakura was taken aback as she finally came face to face with him, green eyes reflecting her astonishment as they rested upon the tall figure in front of her. She quickly scanned him, searching worriedly for any signs of abnormality. Itachi was…just standing there, the door opened by the barest of cracks, giving her a stinted view of him.

"Itachi!" She said hurriedly, getting closer to the doorway, and frowning when he kept the door firmly closed halfway. Annoyed, she placed a hand on it, pushing a little to try and budge it. "Itachi, why is there _blood_ all over the corridor?"

"Do not…concern yourself with it," Itachi closed his eyes briefly, before opening them to fix them solely on her. "I will take care of it, Sakura."

Like _hell_ she was buying that. Sakura, not one to mince words, told him exactly that. "Like hell I'm buying that, Uchiha!"

"Sakura…"

Irate, she continued, "How stupid do you think I am? Just tell me what's wrong!"

Something inexplicable flickered over Itachi's expression at the outraged concern that had leaked into her voice, though Sakura was too occupied with attempting to break past Itachi's firm hold on the door to notice.

_Why the hell won't he let me in?_

The pink-haired girl made a soft noise of distress as he braced himself against the doorway, giving off every sign of weariness and hurt that was medically possible. Sakura, having been teammates with an Uchiha for quite a number of years, knew that the pain tolerance of the Uchiha was incredibly high. And if Itachi was visibly showing signs of being hurt, then she would have been willing to bet that most others would have been unconscious from the pain by now. Something was wrong with him, no matter how he tried to hide it.

"You're hurt," she told him quietly, eyes desperately sweeping the length of his body, attempting to discover the source of his pain. "Itachi, _where are you hurt?_"

His jaw tightened. "I am fine, Sakura." He paused, his breathing harsh and erratic now, his gaze locked upon her obstinate face. "It is not necessary to—"

"No you're not!" She retorted angrily. "Let me look at you and I can _help_!"

His eyes, identical orbs of pain-induced black, grew darker at her refusal to leave. His hand tightened against the doorway, and Sakura could see that he was barely coherent.

"_Go_." The word was hissed into the air, Itachi's fingers now clutching the door frame. "_Now, Sakura."_

"I'm not going anywhere! You need help—Itachi!"

She barely managed to shove open the door and grab him as he staggered, his form falling heavily against the wall as his hands reached out to brace his body. His hands flattened against the floral print, nearly digging holes into it as his fingers clutched at the wall. For a moment, Sakura watched in morbid fascination as the ugly flowers decorating the wall had Itachi's fingers brutally puncture them with pain-induced crevices.

And then she saw. Horror invaded her features as she finally noticed what he had been trying to hide from her.

The side of his shirt was in dirty tatters, stained a repulsive red from the rampant stream of blood coursing from the skin. Long cuts trailed their way down his side, clearly the source of the steady blood flow that had created a trail of crimson down the hotel hallways.

But that wasn't the only thing.

It looked like…it looked like…

Sakura swallowed hard.

It looked like his entire side had been burned off in a fire. He was akin to the burn victims she saw in the hospital all the time, their flesh marred by the heat of flames and smoke, skin charred and almost non-existent from the intensity of what had injured them.

Most of the skin from the side of his abdomen had been completely torn off, exposing the gruesome sight of raw flesh underneath. Burn marks curled around his side, reaching onto his back, the angry red color of them spread liberally, standing out against the rest of his smooth, pale skin.

Quickly, her hands pulsating with the green glow of healing chakra, she placed her hands over the wounds, eyes growing increasingly aggravated when she saw that she wouldn't be able to cover them all. Dammit, she didn't have much chakra left after how much she had expended during the lesson today…!

"You need to go to the hospital!" She said desperately, her hands never leaving his body as she kept up a flood of chakra. "Itachi, I don't think I'm going to be able to—"

"_No_," he breathed out softly, leaning his body almost blindly into her hold.

Sakura grit her teeth, frustration bubbling up inside of her at his pigheadedness.

Luckily, she'd had plenty of experience with stubborn men who absolutely refused to go to the hospital when wounded. Compared to Kaka-sensei, Itachi was just small fries. "Itachi—" She began, argument already beginning to build up in her tone. "I mean it, I don't have everything I need to—"

"Sakura."

Reluctantly, she raised her eyes to meet his, almost flinching at the seriousness in their depths. When he spoke, it was with an obvious effort, his words intense and tired. "Sakura, I need you to…heal me here." His lids slipped down, extinguishing the burning black of his eyes from view. "Too many…questions…"

Alarmed at how unstable he was, she cut in quickly, "Alright, I understand. Stop talking and wasting energy, baka."

She received no reply, and Itachi's eyes were closed, his skin seeming paler than usual, and covered in a soft sheen of perspiration. She gently placed her hand against his face, feeling the smoothness of his skin against her fingertips, mouth almost dropping open when she felt how feverish he was.

Was this idiot of an Uchiha trying to get himself _killed_? Did he have a _death wish_ or something?

She let out a low moan, not appreciative in the _least_ of the situation she now found herself in. Sasuke would _murder_ her if she let his beloved aniki die on her watch!

Sakura slid her arms around his tall frame, trying her best to hold him up as he collapsed against her, his breathing ragged and heavy. His body was unbearably hot, and she could feel the sticky warmth of his blood seeping from his side and staining her fingers.

She needed to get him somewhere she could heal him easier.

_Bed_, she thought distantly, already pulling his arm over her shoulders and wrapping another around him gingerly, trying to avoid jostling him too much. It was difficult supporting him, she realized, given how much _taller _than her he was. As always, she felt so incredibly diminutive next to him, in more ways than one.

"Itachi?" She asked softly, one hand reaching up again to touch his cheek lightly. She winced at the renewed feeling of feverishness of it, biting her lip with worry. She needed to start bringing that fever down soon. As in, _right now, _before it became hazardous.

She was relieved when his eyes opened, but the darkness in them frightened her. He tilted his face into her hand, an odd expression on his face as its coolness clashed with the burning heat of his skin.

"Itachi, I need to get you into your room," she told him. "Can you walk a little?"

Somehow she didn't think his manly ego would appreciate her carrying him into his bedroom like a princess, and she didn't want to expand any more chakra in trying to do so.

"Yes." His usually sensual voice was rough and tight, his eyes falling closed again as he pulled Sakura against him more fully, leaning on her heavily. Their bodies were unbearably close, nearly every inch of them pressed together in an intimate hold, making Sakura immediately flush. Had he not been in such a dire state, she probably would have punched him.

"I'll help you," she whispered, already taking a small step forwards. "Just…just lean on me, okay?"

* * *

Shizune stared at the sealed scroll in her hand for a few long seconds, clearing her throat nervously as she noted the signature ANBU jutsu that locked away the contents from any prying eyes.

The summons that had disappeared only moments before could be mistaken for belonging to none other than one shinobi, the stoic hawk similar to his master in more ways than one.

Tsunade-sama had to see this, and quickly. Things much have been much worse than they had suspected, if he had sent them a report so abruptly, such a short time after leaving. Such a little thing, she marveled, her hand clutching tighter onto the white paper, such a little thing that could cause so much worry and stress.

But she had to hurry.

With a brief nod of thanks at the decoder, Shizune hurried off, footsteps thumping wildly along the floor as she ran off in search of her Hokage.

So, when the door to Tsunade's office was slammed open with a deafening noise, revealing a panting and red-faced Shizune, it was hardly a surprise….

…except to the Hokage herself, who had been happily snoozing the afternoon away on a large stack of unfinished paperwork, and had been rudely awoken by her dark-haired assistant. Nonplussed, and rubbing at her sleep-ridden eyes blearily, the blonde Hokage could blink in surprise at her disheveled apprentice staggering towards the desk with a hand on her heaving chest.

"Tsu-tsunade-sama," sounded in the room, Shizune nearly gasping out the name as she attempted to calm herself.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, hiding a smirk. Clearly _someone_ had been off active duty for too long, she mused with an inward cackle. Her poor, out-of-shape apprentice must have run a long way if she looked like _that_.

"What is it Shizune?" She yawned, discreetly wiping at her face in a quick check for drool. Mournfully, she glanced out the window at the lazily beaming sun and clear blue sky. She swore her apprentice always woke her up on the best of napping days, when the world outside her office hummed with a lackadaisical buzzing of nature that just _invited_ her to close her overworked eyes and rest her head upon her desk. And what was even worse, Shizune had succeeded in training Sakura to do so as well…

_Traitors_, she thought grumpily. _Teach them all they know and that's how they repay you? Hmph._

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune straightened up, her face less flushed, and placed the sealed scroll on the wooden desk. "This just arrived."

The blonde eyed it with a bored look. "Oh?"

"It's from Uchiha-san," Shizune told her, a worried expression crossing her face. "Do you think everything's all right?"

"Uchiha?"

Shizune exhaled in relief, glad that her mentor had grasped the urgency of the situation so quickly.

"Which Uchiha?"

Well, there went _that_ notion.

Shizune gaped at the other woman, catching herself against the desk as she nearly fell in surprise. Surely she couldn't be…serious?

"Tsunade-sama, the one you sent on the mission to Suna with Sakura!"

Tsunade glanced at her in irritation, mouth pursing childishly. "Shizune, how am I supposed to be expected to remember all of the Uchihas and their missions?" She muttered. "Konoha's teeming with the little buggers, after all."

Praying for strength, Shizune neatly avoided slapping a desperate hand to her face. "Uchiha Itachi!"

In an instant, Tsunade had snatched up the scroll, breaking the seal on it and unfurling it in rapid succession. "Good lord, Shizune, why didn't you say so in the first place?"

"But I—"

"You really need to stop beating about the bush," Tsunade reprimanded, already scanning the narrow script filling the length of the scroll.

"But Tsunade-sama, I-!"

"Hush, I'm reading."

And so Shizune fell silent, only the many years of dealing with the difficult woman allowing her to hold her tongue. She kept her eyes firmly trained on the Hokage's face, hardly blinking even when Ton-Ton leapt into her arms with a happy squeal.

She watched with trepidation as Tsunade's face grew darker and darker, amber eyes narrowing into near slits as she read Itachi's message.

It obviously wasn't one bringing tidings of good news, she fretted. And if it was making the Hokage's face transform so viciously…

The foreboding feelings that had been festering in her stomach from the moment she had seen that scroll increased a little more. Unbidden, the thought of Sakura rose to the forefront of her mind. If Jiraiya-sama had been correct in his suspicions, and if Uchiha-san's scroll only served in confirming those suspicions, then Sakura was stuck right in the middle of it all…In the middle of a conflict that had been fragilely building for many years, and was just about to burst.

If the observations and rumors had been true, then the girl she had come to think of as a precious sister was currently sitting on the end of a gun that was going to go off. The only consolation she had was that an ANBU team led by Uchiha Itachi was with her, and it wasn't likely that he would allow the pink-haired girl to get caught in any crossfire.

Unconsciously, she clutched onto Ton-Ton a little tighter, anxiety about Sakura causing guilt to quickly arise within her. She should have gone to Suna, she shouldn't have allowed Tsunade-sama to send Sakura, should have _insisted _on being the one to go there and conduct the medical lessons, should have—

"Shizune."

Shizune blinked, breaking out of her panicked train of thoughts.

Tsunade was rubbing her face, this time with a weary air about her.

"Yes?" She replied softly, desperate to ask what was in the scroll but hesitant to push.

"Is Naruto in the village?"

The younger woman nodded, confused. "Kakashi-sensei just returned from an assignment and Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun haven't been assigned any missions recently." She paused, smiling slightly. "I think they wanted to wait until Sakura-chan returned, to tell you the truth."

"Good," Tsunade muttered distractedly. "See that he doesn't leave for a while, will you Shizune?"

Looking every inch of her true age for once, Tsunade pushed herself out of her chair, swiftly turning to stand at the window of her office. She stayed there, motionless, simply staring out at the vast expanse of life and activity that was Konoha.

Shizune tilted her head forwards, gaze falling upon the troubled posture of her Hokage's back. Carefully, she asked, "Lady Tsunade? What was—what was in the report?"

Her back to Shizune, the young woman couldn't see the grim look that spread across Tsunade's visage. "Though I never thought I'd ever say this," Tsunade sighed out, "it appears that…Jiraiya was right." She twisted her head somewhat to level a hard stare on her apprentice, who had all the semblance of a horror-struck statue, body frozen in place from dread. "The Uchiha found them, in a small village about thirty miles away from Suna."

Shizune shook herself from her petrified state. "Then…"

"Then, if those damned Akatsuki are following their normal pattern," Tsunade's honey-brown orbs flashed, "According to the Uchiha, Shukaku, and in turn Gaara, will be next."

"So they're…they're truly after the biju," Shizune murmured, more to herself than any other. She raised her eyes to Tsunade again. "But why…?"

Tsunade shook her head at the unspoken question, blonde hair swaying with the motion. "Who knows? Power? World domination?" She snorted derisively, mouth turning down. "I suppose the usual things insane megalomaniacs are after. I don't pretend to understand the way they think."

"I hope Uchiha-san and Jiraiya-sama will be able to unearth more about this," Shizune said, brows furrowing. "Especially now that we know Naruto-kun's in equal danger."

"Hm," was the grumbled reply she received.

Shizune continued, unheeding of Tsunade's ill-humored mood. "And, Tsunade-sama, you don't want Naruto-kun to know about this because—"

"If he knows," Tsunade finished, "That boy will go tearing out to Suna in a heartbeat, like the impulsive, emotional idiot he is. And I flatly refuse to _hand_ Naruto on a silver platter to them."

"But, Tsunade-sama," Shizune ventured, sounding even more distressed, "What are we going to _do?_"

She was answered in a cool, crisp tone. "_Do_? Shizune, there's nothing much I _can_ do." Tsunade began pacing, footsteps loud in the tense office as she went back and forth relentlessly. Her words were melded together in a stream of sound, resignation and frustration laced within them. "I can't afford to spare any more shinobi, and leave Konoha wide open for our enemies. It took _years_ to recover from that snake bastard's attack," her eyes grew dark at the mention of her ex-teammate, "And most are chomping at the bit for a chance to invade. Suna, right now, will have to make do with what they have—I've already given Gaara my best ANBU team, as well as one of our most advanced medics."

"Well…I suppose…" Shizune stalled. "Though, what if…what if they do plan on attacking Kazekage-sama? Do you really believe he'll be able to evade capture from them?"

Absentmindedly, Tsunade lifted a manicured-nail to her mouth, biting it in thought. "Look at it this way, Shizune. Suna-nin are equally as capable as any other. Though unlikely, even if the Akatsuki _did_ attempt to capture Shukaku, getting past every defense in the process, they would still have Gaara to contend with."

A grim smile arose to her face.

"And an enraged jinchuuriki is not someone who tends to lose."

* * *

Sakura sagged down onto the floor beside Itachi's bed, petite body radiating a completely drained aura that permeated every part of her.

Really, she reflected in lethargy, ever since coming to Suna she'd really been pushing her limits. She glanced back at Itachi, noting with relief that the unhealthy flush of his skin had been heavily reduced, and the gaping wounds in his side had been mostly closed up, though the burns had been far more difficult. Most likely, they would require an extended period of time to heal, probably scar as well…

It had been nothing short of a miracle, however, that she had been able to do so much for him, especially given how low on chakra she seemed to be running these days. She mentally thanked her lucky stars for the repeated practice of emergency, spontaneous healings that she'd had with Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi, all of whom were fond of turning up in bloody heaps at her doorstep at all hours of the night.

She groaned. What was it with her and men who refused to go to the hospital? It appeared she was cursed to always be associated with such headstrong dummies, no matter where she went, she scowled.

Stupid hospital-phobic idiots. She exhaled, quiet sigh barely noticeable, and turned so that her body was pushed against the side of the bed, her pink locks spread across the top as she comfortably rested her head on the plush surface, facing the dark-haired Uchiha lying there motionless.

_And he's the biggest idiot of them all,_ she grumbled, tentatively reaching out to his face.

She told herself, firmly and unyieldingly, that it was merely to check for fever, yet somehow her traitorous hand stayed there, resting against Itachi's cheek.

"Itachi, you idiot, what were you thinking? Trusting that I'd be able to…to heal you no matter what." She whispered to him softly, too tired to check the words spilling from her mouth.

Itachi, predictably, did not reply, making Sakura smile tiredly. Maybe it was her over-worked brain talking, but she _liked_ this sleeping-Itachi much better than the awake-and-forever-teasing her Itachi. Sleeping Itachi, though still undeniably handsome in his slumber, couldn't make her blush with his dark eyes and smug voice that delighted in ruffling her feathers, driving her out of her mind more than anyone else she knew.

She considered him for another moment. She liked…this Itachi.

But, as she hastened to reassure herself, ignoring Inner Sakura's smug cackles, that was much different from actually _liking_ Itachi. Much, much different.

Sakura rubbed her face, laughing ruefully at herself. How was it that this man managed to occupy her thoughts even when he wasn't _awake_? She hadn't…she hadn't even technically _known_ him until that entire fiasco that Naruto and Sasuke had gotten her into—he'd always just been Sasuke-kun's scary older brother, the unapproachable, stoic and unfeeling Uchiha Itachi.

It was so much different from now, moments like this, where Sakura was able to see the man, and not the renowned-Uchiha and ANBU captain.

_Dammit_, she glared. She should just smother him with a pillow now and save herself the headaches that this relentless man would surely give her in the future. She pondered this for a moment, suppressing giggles as she plucked absently at the bedspread. _ANBU Captain Uchiha Itachi: Death by pillow_, she pictured in her mind, unsuccessful in repressing a slight laugh this time.

Unfortunately, she'd never get away with it. Shisui and Hana were hovering around outside, having burst in upon Sakura frantically healing Itachi after finding the blood painting the hallways. Eventually, she had been forced to kick them both out of the room when her concentration could no longer take their swears and muttered speculations, tersely ordering them both out of the room to get rid of Itachi's blood before some poor soul stumbled across it.

She swallowed, not without difficulty, over the hard lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat at the recent memory of being the one to come across the horrific scene. "Why do you _always _find some way to make my life harder? Impossible man," she murmured, more to herself than the sleeping Uchiha behind her.

Her eyelids drooped, her head plopping down on the bed close to where Itachi's still face was, his soft, steady breathing creating a peaceful lullaby that was melodic to Sakura's turbulent thoughts.

"Impossible man," she repeated, sleepily, and surrendered to sweet unconsciousness.

* * *

Itachi briefly awoke to the sweeping sensation of silken hair against his skin and the tantalizing scent of flowers surrounding his sensibilities.

Almost immediately after this oddly pleasant awakening, he became acutely aware of the dull pain plaguing his body, the throbbing in his side and ache that seemed to be content to stay, though it was nothing in comparison with the intensity of his injuries before, when every inch of him had burned with agony and a fierce battle to stay conscious had been an ongoing struggle during his journey back to Suna.

Black eyes opened slowly, blinking in the sudden light of the room as Itachi adjusted his vision to the light. Unsteadily, his vision focused enough that the source of the hair resting against his hand was revealed.

The corners of his mouth twitched at the sight below, something akin to affection passing through his hooded stare.

Sakura was resting, practically collapsed, against the side of his bed, upper body haphazardly sprawled against the top, causing pink locks to spill onto the downy sheets. Her eyes were delicately closed, lashes brushing teasingly against her skin, and small sounds emitted from her mouth, sounding sweetly in the undisturbed quiet in the room.

An almost unperceivable change came over Itachi's face as he gazed at the sleeping girl curled up so trustingly near his body, her sleeping form inexplicably endearing. Itachi's long, dark hair fell messily in his eyes when his head tilted in a speculative manner, his regard centered solely on the kunoichi that had so loudly intruded on his formerly organized world.

Itachi could only suppose that this explained why his body no longer pained him unbearably, his hand reaching out to brush back strands of pink in an uncommonly tender gesture. Sakura had clearly worn herself out attending to him, and if he had properly assessed her personality, she was not one to leave her work half-finished, driving herself to the brink of fatigue to accomplish her goal. His fingertips traced a light path down her face, caressing it with fleeting motions, never lingering too long for fear of waking the exhausted girl.

His eyes narrowed as he observed her place on the floor, before a small smirk spread across his lips.

She was in the entirely wrong place. Itachi could only imagine that Sakura would have undoubtedly disputed this, but she was thankfully not awake enough to argue with him relentlessly over the matter. As it was, he did not have quite enough energy to dodge her furious fists at his audacity.

Attempting to move his body as little as possible, Itachi swiftly leant over the side of the bed (ignoring the sudden pain that shot through his back as he did so) and lightly grasped Sakura's body, pulling her gingerly onto the bed to rest beside him.

Almost immediately, he noted in weary amusement, she snuggled closer, a frown marring her girlishly attractive features as she instinctively searched for the nearest source of heat.

Watching Sakura sleep, he decided, was an interesting activity all of its own, her various habits and small quirks that comprised the creature that was _Sakura_ drawing him dangerously closer to her, more so than he already was. Being granted this…intimacy with her, Itachi realized, was an interestingly soothing thing, particularly because of Sakura's reluctance to allow him anywhere near her and her inherent mistrust of his intentions towards her. Part of him envied her teammates, he would admit, for their long years and intimacy with her, their knowledge of her habits and effortless gain of her careful trust.

_Yes_, it was decided, Haruno Sakura was an intriguing girl, one that Itachi fully intended on acquainting himself with until he knew her thoroughly.

For once, face unguarded by its stoic façade, Itachi allowed himself to close his eyes in the presence of another, Sakura's peaceful visage imprinted in his barely-coherent mind.

* * *

Hana let out a breath of relief as she surveyed the now-clean and free-of-Itachi's-blood hallway, mirroring Hachiko's expression of disgust when she glanced at the soiled rag in her hand. And, true, she and Shisui hadn't been able to get the blood out of _everywhere_ (at least the walls weren't smeared red and the floors no longer looked like ketchup had been splurted all over), but really, who was going to notice a small drop here or there?

Looking at the hallway, Hana couldn't help but be reminded of the feelings of alarm that had swept through her body only hours ago. Hachiko had smelled it first, when they'd returned to the hotel, smelt the blood before they had even reached the landing. Then the rusty smell had hit Hana's nose, poisoning her senses with the odor that nearly always accompanied the work of a shinobi. Her first thought, she remembered silently, had been that it was Sakura. Her next one had been an overwhelming guilt that she and Shisui had failed to protect her, had failed to be there for someone that Hana liked and Itachi thought of as important.

The last one had been horror when she and Shisui had rushed along the trail, chakra pulsing and weapons drawn, only to find that the wounded one hadn't been Sakura at all…

…it had been their captain.

A hand landed on her shoulder, squeezing gently. She looked up, brown hair falling back, to see Shisui smiling gently at her.

She supposed her thoughts must have been flashing across her face, for Shisui said quietly, lacking in his usual boisterous manner, "It's ok, Hana. Sakura's here, so he'll be fine. She'll take care of him."

She glared, irritated at being caught in her worry, especially by Shisui. "Stop trying to be all comforting," she muttered, "You're just as worried as I am, stupid."

She spluttered as Shisui gave a small yank, causing her to fall into his one-armed hug.

"Hey—!"

"I _am_ just as concerned," Shisui said calmly, causing Hana to still in his embrace, the warmth of his body inadvertently relaxing her turbulent mood, his serious voice reassuring and soothing her turbulent mood. "But I figured you'd need the comfort more."

"Oh _really?_" Hana snarled at her teammate, eyes flashing and highly disconcerted at the mature side of Shisui that rarely emerged.

Shisui grinned down at her, nodding. "Yup. You see, Hana, if I know you, and I'm pretty sure that after years of suffering you on my team I do," he ignored Hana's outraged growl, absently pulling her closer. "You're the one beating yourself up the most about not being there for Itachi."

Hana was abnormally quiet, annoyed at Shisui hitting the nail on the head with his words. As usual.

"I'm right, hm?"

She gave an unwilling grumble, not even bothering to fight back when Shisui lifted a hand to rest softly on her hair, fingers smoothing down the wild strands.

Shisui bit back a laugh at his stubborn teammate, smiling at her fondly. "Anyways, cheer up, Hana-_chan_," he said, feeling her twitch with irritation at the cutesy addition to her name. "It's not like it's the first time our beloved captain's landed himself in a near-death situation, now is it?"

Hana rolled her eyes at that, letting loose a rough bark of laughter. "I suppose you've got a point there."

She was slightly relieved when Shisui let her go, resolutely ignoring the heat that seemed to have permeated her cheeks.

"Hey, think Sakura-chan will let us back in now?" Shisui asked amusedly, remembering how the kunoichi had ordered him and Hana to "get the hell out and do something useful so I can heal Itachi!" with a distinct tone of infuriation.

Hana crossed her arms, clearly recalling the same thing. "Hmph. Pinky's probably done now, if she lived up to her renowned reputation that I keep hearing about." She turned, beckoning Hachiko to her side as began stalking towards the door leading to Itachi's rooms, hearing Shisui's footsteps following her as she did so. Her eyebrows raised as she took note of finger marks on the wall near the doorway, shallow holes and scratches where it looked like someone had mashed their fingers deep into the wallpaper. Her eyes carefully avoided the tell-tale spots of blood on the floor that served as a veritable pathway to Itachi's bedroom, where Sakura had been forced to practically drag Itachi to in order to work on him.

Hana came to an abrupt halt as she reached the bedroom threshold, breath catching as her brain struggled to keep up to her eyesight.

Shisui was suddenly stopped by Hana's arm being thrown in front of him, barricading him from entering the room.

"Hana, what're you—"

"Shut up, baka, and just look," Hana sighed, redirecting her extended arm to point at the sight in front of them.

She couldn't completely suppress the smirk when she heard Shisui's surprised gasp, though she couldn't admit to having a different reaction. After all, the sight they were witnessing now wasn't something she'd ever dreamed of being privy to.

Itachi was lying on his bed, face still quite pale but missing the dangerous sheen of sweat and fever that had covered it before. His breathing was even, slow and steady risings and fallings of his chest, a sound that was paralleled from the thoroughly sleeping girl curled up beside him.

And therein lay the rub, Hana observed with a speculative gaze. Haruno Sakura, looking all of her innocently sweet sixteen years, lay in a small, compact ball next to the handsome Uchiha's side, her heart-shaped face untroubled and utterly serene. The only thing that betrayed how exhausted she must have been were the shadowed smudges under her eyes, contrastingly starkly with her slightly whiter-than-normal skin.

The two were facing each other, close even though their bodies were hardly touching, an intimacy of slumber surrounding the two shinobi. Pink and black heads were bent towards each other, oddly calm expressions reflecting on each unconscious face.

It was so disgustingly _cute_ that even Hana felt her heart give a small squeeze at the perfect image they portrayed.

Either that or the sweetness was activating her gag reflex.

In all of her years of knowing him, Hana had never _once_ seen Itachi allowing someone outside of his immediate family to violate his personal space like that. Hell, the man was paranoid about _handshakes_ for cryin' out loud. Uchiha Itachi had practically written the damn _book_ on personal space and its sanctity.

Her keen brown eyes narrowed as she stared at the pinkette, who slept on peacefully, as though she had every right to her place snuggled next to the Uchiha.

So what was so special about this girl, anyways? So special that Uchiha Itachi, genius ANBU captain who was never stupid enough to let his guard down, would _fall asleep_ with her in such a close proximity?

Sure she had one hell of a punch, and a temper to match it, and she supposed that Itachi's freakishly unhealthy appreciation of strength and violence might have had something to do with it, as well as the fact that Haruno, for all appearances, seemed to _loathe _the Uchiha and Itachi always _was_ a masochistic bastard who loved challenges beyond all else and…

…and were those his _fingers_ lovingly entangled in her hair?

Hana's brows shot up in disbelief, and from the sound of Shisui's near-hyperventilation from beside her, guessed that he had noticed it as well.

Just friends her _foot._ Either those two were floating somewhere in denial land, or something had happened in the few hours' span of time that Sakura and Itachi had been here alone. Hana knew friends when she saw them, and those two sure as hell weren't in that category.

Another uncharacteristic sigh left her lips, turning and grabbing an unmoving Shisui as she slipped from the room, softly shutting the door behind them.

Itachi must have been beyond the point of exhaustion if he hadn't woken up the second they'd stepped in the room, she realized, shaking her head at her captain. From the very first time they'd been on a team together, it had been glaringly obvious that he was an exceedingly light-sleeper, ready to snap awake at the slightest noise. Really, the idiot, like all of those macho Uchiha guys, didn't know the meaning of the word "rest".

Or at least he didn't 'til he met Sakura, she thought smugly, mentally reminding herself to mercilessly tease Itachi with this later on.

"What the hell was that?"

Oh right, Shisui.

Hana looked back at him, hiding a grin at his panicked face. Really, what had happened to the rather cool, in-control Shisui that had hugged her in the hallway? There wasn't a trace of him left, she rejoiced in wicked triumph, unable to stop herself from snorting at his flabbergasted expression.

"Isn't it obvious, dumb-ass?" She drawled, a superior smirk creeping across her mouth.

"It…well, it looked like…" Shisui's voice trailed off, clearly still befuddled about the scene he had just witnessed.

Hana laughed. "I'll say this: prepare for a crapload of emotional tension until those two finally get together. And prepare to watch the fireworks when they wake up."

* * *

Sakura stirred to the first beams of morning sunlight warming her cheeks, and, strangely enough, felt unusually well-rested. She stretched out, cat-like and eyes blissfully closed, on the bed, happily content to remain there for quite a while longer.

At least, she _was_ until her morning fuzziness cleared in one horrible fell swoop, and she remembered exactly _whose_ bed she was so cheerfully and warmly burrowed in.

_Please no,_ she prayed desperately, eyes popping open in a burst of green. _Please, please, please, no._

Uchiha Itachi, black locks tousled in a way that should be _illegal_ and dark orbs heavy from sleep, stared down at her, his mouth curling upwards marginally.

"You seem to have a habit of falling asleep on me, Sakura."

Neither was really surprised when Sakura gave an ear-splitting cry and threw herself backwards, landing with a resounding crash on the floor in a heaping pile of pillows and bedcovers…

…and staring up with a look of pure horror at a smirking Uchiha Itachi, blatant amusement on his face.

* * *

**So, I thought about just following canon and offing Itachi in this chapter. Easy way to end the story, huh? XD Then I realized I didn't want to brave the massive flames that would incinerate this story should I do so!**

**I'm sorry for the huge delay, but I only just finished my IB Exams and AP Exams (if you know what those are, you'll understand why I fried my brain from studying and was thus unable to write ^_^) and I'm rapidly preparing for graduation and then college. Thanks so much for your patience!**

*****SPOILER ALERT: So…uhm…I love Itachi as much as the next girl, and adore whenever he shows up in the manga, but was anyone else kinda creeped out by the fact that Kabuto currently has possession of his corpse? O_O**

**Anyhow, please read and review, you guys know the drill! :-)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. *Sad face***

**Brief summary (since it HAS been a whole darn year since I've updated…) : After seeing Sakura tricked into a date with Uchiha Itachi in **_**The Consequences of Snooping**_, **we find ourselves in **_**The Consequences of Uchiha.**_ **Sakura once again finds herself in a tough spot as she is sent on a diplomatic mission to Suna with Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, and Inuzuka Hana. With an intent to begin repairing the fragile relations that have tied Suna and Konoha together ever since the disastrous Chunin Exam four years previously, Sakura traverses into a city that still holds grudges against Konoha. Between giving medical lessons to the Suna med-nins, being manipulated into training lessons for the upcoming jounin exam with her team captain, avoiding the odd interest of Suna medical shinobi Takano Shinji and fighting her growing affections for Uchiha Itachi, Sakura's in for a hell of an interesting time. **

**However, Itachi seems to have another, hidden agenda during their stay in Suna, one that leads to dangerous encounters against the Akatsuki. Last chapter, Sakura stumbled upon Itachi, grievously wounded, and does her best to heal his injuries. She falls asleep after a strenuous healing and somehow wakes up the next morning…snuggled in his bed. **

**I think I'll save my pathetic groveling and tear-filled apologies until the end and just let you read… XD Enjoy!**

* * *

Scientifically speaking, it was supposed to be completely and irrevocably impossible to die from embarrassment.

However, when Sakura had woken up this morning, only to discover herself deeply ensconced in the warmth of a certain Uchiha's bed and waking up to his amused smirk, she was definitely willing to prove that scientific theory wrong by promptly curling up and dying from the utter humiliation of the situation.

The only thing that stopped her from doing so was her adamant refusal to give that sneaking bastard the satisfaction of seeing how extensive an effect he had on her.

She still had _some _pride, after all.

So, Sakura ended up doing what any normal, respectable, and entirely sane girl would have done when confronted with a dark-eyed and shirtless Uchiha Itachi after awaking in his bed: she turned tail and fled as fast as her shaky legs would allow her to.

And now, here she was, safely locked within the confines of her bathroom, sitting motionlessly on the floor of her shower stall as the warm water poured mercilessly down on her head. The plan was to stay there until she either: A) drowned and departed from this cruel and sadistic world that seemed to hold some sort of grudge against her or B) dried up like a wrinkled old prone from extended exposure to the water, in the hopes that a certain unnamed Uchiha would be wholly repulsed and driven away from her shriveled self.

Sakura winced painfully just recalling this morning's events, cheeks warming at the mere memory of it all. Unconsciously, her teeth ground together in annoyance as she remembered her less-than-smooth escape from Itachi's room.

"_You seem to have a habit of falling asleep on me, Sakura."_

_Sakura was only aware of the sudden jolt of unadulterated horror that electrified her body at the sound of his voice, her feminine instincts immediately causing her to let out a shrill scream and (even more embarrassingly) topple gracelessly off his mattress in a messy heap of bedcovers. All she could manage to do was stare up at the bane of her existence, mouth opening and closing in an unattractive manner rather similar to a blowfish. _

_In her blank mind, only one solitary thought flickered across it. _

I fell asleep in his **bed? **

_Frantically, she racked her head for any evidence to the contrary, praying that she hadn't actually done that. But with her rampant chakra depletion still lingering and playing havoc with her senses, all she could recall were hazy instances of feeling warm and drowsy, mixed in with images of a peacefully sleeping Itachi._

_She scowled at herself, inwardly panicking. None of these memories were doing anything to assure her that she _hadn't_ shamelessly climbed into Itachi's bed and joined him for a snooze. Like some sort of wanton fangirl or something. _

_Her hands tightened on the bedcovers she was half-buried in, Sakura silently cursing her horrible inability to control her actions whenever weariness struck her. Naruto and Sasuke had shared enough horror-stories of things she had done when on the brink of exhaustion, and Sakura wouldn't put it past that sneaky Inner Sakura of hers to have egged the whole hopping-into-bed-with-Itachi thing on when her mental defenses were lowered. _

_Stupid alter ego. _

_Sometimes, Sakura reflected miserably as she reluctantly raised her eyes to Itachi, it seemed like the whole stupid universe was out to push her headfirst into Itachi's nefarious clutches. Honestly, it was like some mysterious force was out there constantly working against her, making her gravitate towards that Uchiha like a darn magnet! _

_And really, couldn't the man ever deign to look rumpled or messy, like _normal_ humans? Truth be told, Sakura was really not entirely convinced that Itachi even _was_ human, and was leaning more and more towards Naruto's robot-Itachi theory, but…still! The infuriating shinobi had arrived only hours ago on his doorstep, bloodied, bruised, and feverish, and yet he could wake up from his rest with his dark hair handsomely tousled, and the faint circles beneath his eyes merely serving to enhance their obsidian depths. _

_Sakura could just _feel_ the bird's nest of bed head she was probably sporting, turning bright red as she observed him. Bastard. Bastard, bastard, bastard—_

"_Sakura?"_

_She blinked, Itachi's voice snapping her out of the fog surrounding her senses as her mind had whirred away in confusion. _

"_Eh?" She said intelligently, her mouth still trying to rediscover the wonders of speech. _

_Itachi seemed to be having difficulty repressing a smirk of amusement at her expense, given the highly suspect way his mouth tilted upwards at her obvious surprise towards the sudden interruption of her internal musings. "I was merely questioning how you came to be in my bed, Sakura."_

_She bit back a groan at his words—words that would appear to the casual observer as an innocent question, but to Sakura resonated with Itachi's latest attempt to slowly and painfully torture her into a state of tomato-red embarrassment. Why in the world couldn't she ever stop showing herself up in front of this man? What sort of crime had she committed in a past life that would lead to a bout of karma determined to continually throw her into unbearably awkward situations with this single person? _

_Added to her discomfort at this entire situation was that she couldn't actually _remember_ how she had gotten herself into this damn situation in the first place. _

_Well, the best way to skirt an undesirable question was with a question. She'd learned the conversational avoidance-tactic from the best; with Hatake Kakashi as your teacher, you more often than not found your questions being deflected with clever rhetoric that soon had you forgetting your original purpose in the first place. _

_Lifting her head up from the fascinating view of the mess of covers surrounding her petite body, she fixed a determinedly cheerful smile on her face. _

"_No idea," she chirped pleasantly, endeavoring not to allow any hint of her aggravated thoughts to seep into her voice. "But more importantly, how are you feeling? After all, you were pretty much at death's door when I found you, you know."_

_From the raised eyebrow and strange glint in his black eyes she was greeted with, Itachi's face told her that he knew _exactly _what she was trying to do. Much to her eternal gratefulness, however, he decided to play along. _

"_I believe I am…markedly better," he said calmly, without hesitation. "My injuries are not overtly painful any longer."_

_Unexpectedly, a tiny but real smile bloomed on the sixteen-year-old's face when he spoke. _

"_Ah! That's really good," Sakura enthused softly, green eyes lighting up as she forgot for a brief, glorious instant exactly who she was talking to. The idea of having been able to utilize her hard-earned abilities to heal someone was having its usual cheering effect on her mood—the joy of preserving life unable to be dampened by any irritation, weariness, or mortification she may have been afflicted with. _

_She was also blissfully unaware of the interested, keenly intense stare her honest, smiling visage was drawing from the Uchiha sitting still upon the bed before her. _

_Itachi tilted his head minutely to the side as he continued in his observance of Sakura's rare willing display of happiness in his presence, exceedingly entertained by the fact that she was essentially oblivious to him as she became wrapped up in her satisfaction at his progress in recovering. _

_An unfamiliar warmth, small yet enduring, was unfurling somewhere within him, prompting him to note quietly, "It seems I was not mistaken when choosing you for this mission, Sakura." He leaned forward idly on the bed to bring himself closer to her place on the floor, watching as her eyes immediately widened and snapped up to his at his words. He smirked, something almost mischievous lurking in his upturned lips as he spoke. "Your skills have proven quite…invaluable."_

_That did it. _

_Sakura was broken out of her haziness by the teasing quality of his voice, mind plunged into the mortifying realization that the jerk was _purposely_ trying to make her embarrassed with his spontaneous, un-Itachi-like compliments!_

…_and damn it all if he wasn't succeeding at it too, Sakura scowled to herself as she fought down a frighteningly girly urge (that she had more than one suspicion were radiating from Inner Sakura) to swoon and do the "I-Was-Just-Complimented-By-_The-_Uchiha-Itachi" dance. _

_This couldn't be good for her heart, a traitorous muscle currently threatening to palpitate itself right out of her chest cavity with the violent rate it was thumping at. _

_She had to get out of here. Now. Preferably before she spontaneously combusted into a little pile of smoking Sakura ashes. _

_Right—first order of the day was a cool and collected retreat from Uchiha Itachi's Lair of Sakura Seduction™. _

_Finding her voice, she was dismayed to find that it was coming out rather squeaky. "Ah, right! Yes, now that I know you won't be dying anytime soon, which is really good and all…I—um—have to…do something…"She floundered, surreptitiously glancing down at the floor as though to seek aid from it in escaping this nightmare. With some half-baked excuse, Sakura made to stand up, hastily emerging from her nest in a spray of cushions and blankets…_

…_only to let out a surprised yelp as the covers still firmly wrapped around her feet and legs tripped her, and she became very well acquainted with the floor once again. _

_So much for that 'cool and collected' withdrawal she was going for, a chance to demonstrate her exceptional grace as an accomplished kunoichi. More like 'utterly inept and stupidly clumsy' she grumbled to herself. _

_Sakura could feel the blood spilling into her cheeks, making her crimson face shine like a beacon in the night. Why her? For the umpteenth time, why was it always _her_ that seemed to have her clumsiest moments in front of this singular person?_

"_Just kill me now," she mumbled into the carpet, hoping maybe it would take pity on her and smother her to death or something. She wasn't really picky at this moment in time. _

_The sudden rustle of movement behind her caused her to glance around, and, if it was possible, she felt her skin become even redder than before. Itachi was leaning over the side of his bed, black bangs falling around his face as he patiently and quietly disentangled Sakura's feet from their cushy prison. Sakura's green eyes narrowed into near slits when she spotted Itachi's lips twitching suspiciously, as though he were attempting to withhold the laughter threatening to emerge. _

_Still, she chose not to say anything, just shut her eyes tightly and suffered through the few seconds it took Itachi's nimble fingers to work the blankets free from her legs. He withdrew slowly after finishing, surveying her with slight flickers of humor on his face as he observed her apple-red cheeks and dangerously burning eyes. _

"_Better?"_

_She was going to burst a vein if she stayed here a second longer and listened to his smug voice. She just _knew_ it. _

"_Yes," she stood again, with as much dignity as she could manage while blatantly avoiding his gaze. Though it killed her to say it, she added a stiff, "Thank you."_

_Not really caring that Itachi's blankets were still tangled around her body in an impromptu toga, she stomped out of his room and into the hallway, as far away as she could get so as to avoid murdering the heir of the Uchiha clan and thus ending up in deep trouble with Tsunade-sama. Even if everyone else would probably thank her for doing the world a favor. _

_Though maybe his mother might not. For whatever reason, Mikoto-san seemed to be abnormally fond of that evil, sadistic genius that was the plague of Sakura's young life right then. _

_Sakura closed the door to his room with a resplendent slam that hardly did justice to her feelings of indignation, and spun around to seek her own residence (as well as her own shower, where, hopefully, she could wash away any lingering traces of warmth from where she had been curled up against that insufferable jerk). _

_Two pairs of startled eyes met her green gaze as she turned. _

_Hana and Shisui, hands full of what was evidently breakfast meant for them, Itachi, and Sakura, stared disbelievingly at the girl emerging from Itachi's room so very early in the morning, form mostly covered in a bed sheet._

_As a lecherous smirk spread over Shisui's face, and Hana's curiously satisfied eyes flickered from Sakura to Itachi's room, Sakura could only conclude that fate really, really, really hated her. _

The hotel patrons in the rooms below could only stare upwards in surprise as an inhumanely loud wail and sounds of someone violently thumping their heads against a tiled shower wall echoed throughout the building.

* * *

Shisui was, at the moment, wandering the corridors of the hotel aimlessly, feeling utterly bored and loathing it.

Itachi still down for the count, and, according to Sakura, confined to his room until further notice so as to ensure optimal rest and recuperation; Hana, on Itachi's orders, was currently preoccupied with reporting to the Kazekage the events of the day before; and Sakura…

…hadn't been seen since he and Hana had bumped into her, irritably trundling out of Itachi's door early in the morning clothed in a sheet.

A soft rumble of laughter escaped his lips upon the recollection of his young teammate's face earlier, which could only be described as the picture of abject horror. In all truthfulness, he could see why his cousin was took it upon himself to ruffle the pink-haired girl's feathers on occasion—Sakura's open reactions were quite amusing, and a welcome refreshment from the apathy so inherent in clan interactions.

Clearly mortified at what the situation must have appeared as, Sakura had stammered out a few incoherent sentences, then abruptly spun on her heel (nearly tripping herself in the process) and darting down the hallway and into her room.

Hana had erupted into unbridled laughter; Shisui had struggled to contain his mirth and instead filed the situation away for blackmail purposes at a later date.

_And speaking of Sakura_…his mood brightened considerably when a flash of spring pink appeared on his peripheral vision,

An easy grin appeared on Shisui's face as he caught sight of Sakura heading towards him, causing him to straighten up and wave cheerfully at the pink-haired girl. "Yo Sakura-chan, whatcha doing?" He paused for a second. "Other than Itachi, I mean," he snickered, clearly entertaining thoughts of the toga incident, and not quite able to resist the chance to tease her.

There was a deadly pause of silence (on Sakura's part) as Shisui giggled mindlessly to himself.

In a manly, Uchiha way, of course.

Then…

"OW! FU—"

The curse about to slip from the Uchiha's mouth was cut off as he clapped an agonized hand to his nose, which was now rapidly gushing blood down onto his lips. Sakura was already lowering her fist, coolly looking on as a pained Shisui glared at her, his laughter having quickly dissipated in favor of nursing his broken facial appendage.

Sakura's brow furrowed stormily as she returned his glare in full force. "You have NO right to look at me like that Shisui-san. You _deserved_ it." And this was her being _nice_. If she had done to him what she'd originally planned to do, Shisui would be lying in the Suna hospital with every bone in his body fractured and his spleen ruptured. Thankfully for him, she'd had ample time to calm down.

Shisui, still holding a hand to his obviously broken nose, adopted a wounded look at her harsh words. With some difficulty, he managed to speak, though his words were punctuated by a loud groan. "What the _hell_, Sakura? I have no idea of why you decided to land a damn punch on me! Dammit, I was _kidding!_"

Her green eyes threw a nasty look at him. "No idea, huh?"

"None!" He fired back, trying to assess the damage to his nose, which had been declared aesthetically pleasing more than once by many an admiring female. He would hate for it to be permanently disfigured thanks to a furious kunoichi with a killer right hook and an unfair amount of strength.

Sakura folded her arms, unyielding. "Think, Shisui-san. Think _really, really_ hard and it might just come back to you," she replied tersely.

Shisui opened his mouth for a moment to once again protest his innocence in whatever she was accusing him of, but resolutely shut it at the nasty look Sakura threw him, for fear that if he spoke again it would result in another chakra-enhanced punch. So instead he went over his memories of the past day with a fine-toothed comb, desperately attempting to stumble upon his supposed transgression. After all, being teammates with Hana over the years had taught him that arguing with headstrong females was useless—when accused of a wrongdoing, it was better to simply agree, spend a little while groveling, and then forget the whole thing. He thought long and hard, but couldn't exactly come up with any inkling of what crime he had evidently committed to piss his young, surprisingly volatile teammate off so badly.

Well, alright, if he was being honest that comment about her and Itachi a few moments ago hadn't been entirely appropriate and more than a little crass. But still…he eyed her with thinly veiled anger, it wasn't like he deserved to be pummeled over something to miniscule.

He sighed, trying to be patient with the fuming girl in front of him, and wishing he could just go and get some ice for his now-swelling nose. "Honestly Sakura-chan," he muttered in a semi-pleading tone, "I can't think of anything—"

Annoyed, Sakura cut in. "Then I'll enlighten you, yeah?" She huffed, green eyes threatening.

Shisui's relieved nod at the suggestion only served to fan the flames on her burning anger further, and she stalked forwards slowly. When she was standing directly before her senpai, she planted her hands firmly on her hips and snarled, "I'm tired of you and Hana-san constantly trying to push me and Itachi together!"

The recipient of her furious yells blinked slowly up at her, uncomprehending. "Eh?"

Sure, the idea of Itachi the unshakeable Uchiha prodigy and the volatile spitfire that was Sakura together was amusing (it was the only fun pastime this godforsaken place of sand offered, and his little cousin really needed loosening up), but when had he ever actively done something? What the hell was she blaming him for then?

He supposed some of his cluelessness must have been flickering on his face, because Sakura said fiercely, "What _exactly _was up with that little stunt involving me, Itachi, and a BED, huh?"

Shisui winced.

Oh.

Nervously, he raised the hand not clutching at his nose to sheepishly rub the back of his neck. "Ah, well…"

He trailed off, desperately trying to think of something to save his already doomed hide. If he wasn't dead by the time those two idiots finally got together, then it would be a bonefied miracle, he thought miserably. Really, between one romantically stunted girl (though he couldn't truthfully say that Itachi was anymore romantically developed than the sixteen-year-old chunin before him) and his socially-retarded cousin, it was a wonder that his head hadn't already exploded from sheer exasperation.

"Sakura-chan," he began cautiously, warily regarding her as one does a pacing lion. A pacing, pink-haired lion that has its teeth bared in a way suggesting that it would very much enjoy tearing you into indefinable, unrecognizable pieces. "Look, I didn't have anything to do with the way you two ended up—"

"But you could have moved me!" Sakura interrupted, eyes still shining unhappily as the pure embarrassment she'd suffered that morning suffused her mind yet again. "I KNOW you and Hana were checking in on Itachi, and you both probably chanced upon us together like that and thought it was CUTE or FUNNY or something equally ridiculous! But NO, no one could take the time to move me because you're both on HIS side, and I'm so damn tired of both of you interfering and constantly trying to help HIM and not ME and it isn't FAIR—"

"Sakura," Shisui exhaled tiredly, head already ringing from the force and volume of her impassioned rant. "Why don't you take this up with Itachi? Beating _me_ up may make you feel better—"

"Damn straight," Sakura mumbled venomously.

"—but it isn't going to resolve anything. So I suggest you go talk to our dear captain about it instead," Shisui finished, voice thick as the blood continued to flow from his cracked nose. However, he wasn't so out of it that he didn't notice the flinch that Sakura gave at his advice, or the rush of color that was suddenly staining her pink cheeks. He rolled his eyes, surveying her with amusement. "You…haven't actually spoken with Itachi yet, huh?"

His only reply was an incoherent growl, making him quirk an eyebrow. Sakura tried to quell her sudden discomfort at that little movement, as it reminded her far too much of another Uchiha who was in the habit of doing much the same when he thought she was being foolish.

Shisui continued on slowly when it became apparent that Sakura wasn't going to give him a definitive answer. "Seeing that…I'm guessing you pretty much just ran out of his room this morning, ne?"

"No! I talked to him!"

"Really now? More or less than three sentences?"

Sakura glared at him stonily, clearly unwilling to reply, making him grin evilly.

"Oh, so that IS what happened. No wonder you resorted to taking out your frustrations on poor, innocent me, Sakura-chan." Shisui was satisfied to catch the quick flash of guilt that crossed her face as his words hit home. Now to rub it in a little bit more…"Were you planning on discussing it with him at all? Or even going back to check up on his wounds? Isn't he still recovering?"

Sakura puffed up indignantly. "Yes!"

Shisui shrugged. "Then why haven't you then? Too…embarrassed to face Itachi again?" He rapidly smothered a grin as she began spluttering, caught off guard from the tables turning so quickly, transitioning from the fierce interrogator to the hapless interrogated.

The oddly happy-go-lucky Uchiha, it seemed, hadn't ranked high in the ANBU for nothing. Sakura was beginning to think he had an uncanny knack for getting inside people's heads. Particularly hers.

"I—"

He waved his hand (again, the one not tightly encasing his battered nose) airily. Or as airily as he could with a steady dripping of blood coming out of his nose. "Don't mind me. I was just curious."

Sakura couldn't believe it. He was essentially calling her a CHICKEN and a coward, calling her out on her own incriminating actions. She suppressed a depressed sigh. Was she really that transparent?

Fine then. If that's what he wanted, then she would damn well show him that Haruno Sakura was not one to cower in the face of…well, anything. Be it danger, embarrassment, or a stubborn Uchiha heir she just couldn't seem to shake loose.

"Well…just watch me!" She proclaimed. "I was heading over to check on him right now, as a matter of fact!"

Shisui shot her an approving smile. Meddling indeed. "That's nice, Sakura-chan. But…before you go…" He glanced at her sheepishly. "D'ya mind healing my nose first?"

* * *

"I'm here to look at your wounds. Don't complain, don't argue, and don't give me any of that 'I'm an Uchiha and I'm invincible' garbage you and Sasuke-kun always try on me," Sakura announced firmly as she barged into her captain's hotel room uninvited, momentarily spurred on by a combination of lingering indignation from her conversation with Shisui and a single-mindedness originating from her desire to fulfill her duty as a medic-nin to the best of her abilities.

Itachi, for his part, merely glanced up from where he was perched on the edge of his couch, an unfurled scroll resting in his hands from when he had evidently been perusing it before Sakura's intrusion. He was silent, outwardly apathetic to her rather dynamic entrance with the exception of a subtle mirth that flashed in his eyes at Sakura's bossy, authoritative attitude that she liked to think of as her official "medic mode".

He was still marginally pale, Sakura observed as she stood in the doorway, but much less so than he had been yesterday. Apparently he had been feeling well enough to shower as well, for the loose hair trailing down his back was slightly damp, and the clothing fitting his tall frame was different from when she had seen him earlier.

However, as Sakura's sharp medic eyes were quick to note in her appraisal of him, he was clearly favoring his right side—the one that had most heavily bore the unmistakable marks of devastating burns.

"Won't you come in?"

Catching herself before she could instinctively jump at his sudden question, Sakura nodded and crossed the threshold further into the room, turning to slowly close the door behind her and give herself that much more time to prepare for the battle of wills and personal space that interacting with Itachi always seemed to involve. After all, the more time she had to gather her wits about her, the less likely she would be annoyingly caught off guard by his stupid, insightful remarks and galling habit of penetrating her personal space bubble.

She turned back to face Itachi and demand that he allow her to look over his injuries (being a stubborn Uchiha, she was most certainly expecting some form of protest or escape attempt)—

-and promptly squeaked in surprise when she saw that he had risen from his seat and was nonchalantly pulling his shirt off, revealing a lean, unfairly beautiful upper body composed entirely of alabaster skin and discreet muscles.

_Oh dear._

Sakura's mind decided there and then that it would be a good place to shut down. _Oh god, what is he doing? Is he trying to-? Oh god, it's like one of those scenes from those bodice-ripper romance novels Ino always tries to make me read, except that none of those guys on the book covers have _anything_ on Itachi—ack! Bad thought, bad thought!_

"Sakura? You wished to assess my _injuries_, correct?"

She blinked, meeting the gaze of a smirking Itachi, who had quite obviously just caught Sakura blatantly ogling him.

Sakura, for her part, could have cheerfully knocked herself unconscious as what she had been thinking finally caught up to her. Damn her overactive imagination! Damn her teenage hormones! And damn Itachi's stupid body and pretty boy face too!

"Erm, yes," she said uneasily, deciding feigned ignorance was the best, and easiest, way to go. Any girlish embarrassment/fuzzy feelings were promptly stuffed into a heavy trunk, chained and nailed shut, and banished into a dark, dusty corner of her mind. She was a medic, first and foremost, after all. What was one more male body?

_**Even if it's **_**Itachi's **_**sinfully male body?**_

At Inner Sakura's sly interjection, she too was banished into the same dark, dusty corner of her mind as the trunk with all of the unwanted feelings she had ever experienced around this exasperating man.

Ignoring his amusement, she pointed back at the couch. "Sit please. It will be easier for me to examine you there."

As Itachi complied (rousing Sakura's distrust—he was going along with this far too easily for liking), Sakura followed, gingerly seating herself on the very edge of the black couch, just in case she needed a quick escape route.

Itachi, sitting with ease on the furniture, his side pressed lightly into the couch's back, watched with interest as Sakura sought to find a position near enough to check over him but far enough out of his reach that she would feel comfortable. She distractedly chewed on her pink lip (unnoticing of the sudden darkening of Itachi's gaze, or the way in which his hand clenched in restraint) as she sat on the edge, almost on the entirely opposite end of the couch, before unhappily realizing that she wouldn't be able to effectively heal him from that distance. With a soft sigh, she reluctantly scooted forwards a few inches more, careful to maintain a safe, respectable space between them.

When she had repositioned herself to her satisfaction, she redirected her attention to the dark-haired male sitting before her.

Itachi tilted his head when Sakura finally halted fussing over their seating arrangement. "Better?" He asked, leaning his head against the palm of his hand with a half-smirk playing on his face.

Sakura's hand twitched as she reminded herself of one of the most important rules: _Thou shalt not strangle young Uchiha heirs, no matter how strong the urge. _

"Yes," she sniped back at him, refusing to rise to his sardonic inquiry. "Now, please straighten up so I can have a clear view of everything," she ordered seriously. She allowed her eyes to slip close, pleased upon hearing Itachi shift into a more erect, straight-backed position as per her instructions. Gathering her strength, she felt the familiar tingling rush of energy as she summoned her chakra, efficiently directing it through the various channels of her body to reach her hands.

Mind preoccupied with the task before her, Sakura temporarily forget to be her normally skittish self around him as she unconsciously slid closer on the couch, hands already glowing softly with the presence of her healing chakra.

Before she could touch him, however, her hands were abruptly halted in their path by Itachi's loose grip.

"Wait."

Surprised at the interference, she looked at him in uncertainty. "What's the matter?"

Itachi's dark eyes were intently resting on her face, hooded with something that almost looked like…concern? "Do you possess enough chakra for this?"

She blinked. "What?"

His lips pressed together in a straight line, his hold on her hands unconsciously tightening when he spoke. "Taking care of my injuries yesterday must have depleted your chakra immensely…added to your previous exhaustion from teaching the entire day before my return, it is obvious that your energy reserves are running low." He paused for a moment before continuing in a quiet voice. "You still appear…rather out of sorts, Sakura."

"I'm fine!" Instantly she was on the defensive, hackles rising. She couldn't help it—she blushed, faintly annoyed at how easy he was able to read her discomfort with this situation. However, it wasn't like she could tell him that it didn't have much to do with fatigue, and was more centered on being so near a specific person…

"Is that so?" Itachi replied calmly, unaffected by her irritated outburst. Gaze still boring into her, he stated blandly, "Then I am…flattered that your sleeping beside me had nothing to do with exhaustion." A slow smirk crossed his mouth at Sakura's sudden look of horror. He tilted his head slightly in mock bemusement. "Truly, I had no idea you felt that way, Sakura. How very gratifying."

Sakura immediately yanked her hands from his warm hold, frantically scooting backwards with a burning face. "No! I mean, I don't!" She turned her head away petulantly, biting her lip in a valiant attempt to keep herself from saying something she'd regret later on. One calming deep breath later and she said begrudgingly, "Okay, so I _was_ a little tired." She shot a glare at the man sitting near her. "Trust me Uchiha, there is absolutely _no _way that little…" She stopped, fighting down a blush as she searched for the words to describe what had happened earlier. "Little bed incident was voluntary. But I promise, I'm feeling well enough to give you a quick check up now."

"I see."

If Itachi's voice sounded vaguely subdued at her words, she didn't notice. Instead she cautiously moved back towards him like a wary animal, hands lighting up once again with healing chakra.

A faint, triumphant grin touched her lips as, this time, Itachi acquiesced to her intentions, allowing her to gently place her hands on his torso and expertly assess the remaining damage to his body from the burns he had suffered the previous days. He was healing nicely, she noticed with a sense of accomplishment, and remarkably fast as well, though that was probably mainly due to her lingering chakra in his system. The redness hadn't quite faded from his skin, and from the occasional tightening of his muscles she could tell that certain areas on his side and front were still quite sore, but she had apparently treated him rapidly enough that he would soon be right as rain.

Itachi was a remarkably good patient. He was utterly silent as she continued to examine him, uncomplaining when she poked or prodded to test his reactions, and a blissful relief from those like Naruto who felt the need to ask if she was done yet every five seconds or so. Still, the silence was becoming a tad bit awkward, and Naruto's endless chitchat and badgering might have almost been preferable right about now.

She smiled to herself softly at the thought of her boys, especially her fox brother, who she practically had to beat over the head with her fist to let her heal the injuries they sustained in the shinobi lifestyle. _Stubborn mules_, she thought affectionately, unaware of the serene quality her face had adopted upon her gentle musings.

"What is it?"

She started, her healing chakra disappearing as her concentration was disrupted. She blinked up at Itachi, before channeling the chakra back to her hands, placing them on his torso to relieve any residual pain inhabiting it. "What's what?"

She almost jumped again as his hand reached up to tuck away a stray strand of pink hair behind her ear, the intimate gesture startling her. Her lips parted as an inaudible gasp escaped them, and she sent a warning look at the Uchiha, promising him imminent pain if he tried to take advantage of their current close proximity do such a thing again. Itachi, being Itachi, simply ignored it.

"You were smiling," Itachi noted with a raised brow. "Why?"

She blinked at him again incredulously, before grinning and letting out a laugh. "People do on occasion, you know."

"Hn. Such has been my observance," Itachi agreed with a light smirk. "However, I was asking why Haruno Sakura was smiling."

Pausing briefly to increase the flow of chakra through her fingertips moving across his skin, she said, "I was just thinking what a nice change you were from most of the other shinobi I know."

"Oh?"

She rolled her eyes—he didn't have to sound so smug at that. Men. She couldn't believe she was even having this conversation with him. "Yes; but don't get a big head. You just complain a tiny little bit less than the other people I heal on a daily basis."

"I'm honored you hold me in such high regard," he said dryly, making her laugh softly again, much to her bewilderment. This friendly teasing side of Itachi wasn't one she was confronted with very often—her green orbs grew large as she realized the annoying man was once again wreaking havoc with her perception of him.

And she was suddenly slammed with the realization that she'd also, once again, been caught off guard by Itachi.

The light from her chakra faded away as she looked up at him, uncomfortably aware of how close she was to him. She quickly pulled back, telling him, "Everything here seems to be alright. I'm going to take a look at your back now, okay? It'll only take a second."

Itachi nodded his permission, and she cleared her throat softly as she rose from her position on the couch, only to situate herself behind Itachi a moment later so as to better evaluate the state of his back.

His very firm, fit back. Where she could see the subtle muscles tensed dangerously beneath his regally pale, relatively unscarred skin—a testimony to the skill this man held in his profession.

With only a slight hesitation, she laid her hands on his back, green chakra skittering across his skin. She valiantly tried to ignore the fact that she was, essentially, feeling Itachi up. Again.

_Maintain a professional outlook, darn it! Remember that trunk, the fuzzy feelings one you only _just_ locked away?_ She scolded herself firmly, even as she felt a familiar heat creeping up her cheeks. _Itachi's a shinobi, so of course he's going to have the body of one! It's nothing you haven't seen a million times before…_

She tried to ignore the spasms of joy Inner Sakura was currently undergoing in the murky depths of her mind. Even calling to mind the most attraction-killing images, such as Gai-sensei in his green jumpsuit or that time she had accidentally walked in on Kaka-sensei getting dressed, wasn't helping the fierce bout of shy uncertainty she was currently plagued with.

Itachi didn't seem to notice that Sakura was silently suffering behind him, and was incessantly upbraiding herself for any and all unprofessional thoughts that were occupying her young mind. The hush was becoming increasingly smothering again, and Itachi didn't seem inclined to break it anytime soon.

Another issue was that Sakura wasn't sure if she was hurting Itachi by touching him—his body seemed to be tensing up an awful lot whenever she skimmed her hands somewhere to test for a reaction. She discreetly allowed a larger percent of chakra flow again, hoping to alleviate any pain she was inadvertently bringing with her touch.

A few more moments of this passed, a delicate silence that was markedly different from the teasing aura that had flowered briefly between them earlier.

"Itachi?" She ventured at last, needing a break from Inner Sakura's continued odes to the man sitting in front of her.

"Hn?"

She hesitated, unsure if he would actually answer a question that had been eating away at her mind for days. After all, it seemed that every time they had actually managed to sit down and have a semi-civilized conversation, it was inevitably interrupted before she really had a chance to ask, or for him to answer.

Itachi, as though sensing her disinclination to speak, turned his head to glance back at her. "What is it, Sakura?"

"Are you—are you ever going to tell me where you went, or what you were doing, when this—" Her glowing hands brushed against the outline of the burns on his back, "—happened?"

He didn't reply for a minute, and Sakura began to berate herself for even thinking he would trust her enough to tell her something that was clearly of the utmost importance. If it was a mission that Tsunade-sama had personally and unofficially given him, as he had said, then it really wasn't any of her business.

An exhale of breath marked her resignation on the matter. "I'm sorry, just forget—"

"Yes."

"—it. It's okay if you can't…" She stopped mid-babble, distantly catching Itachi's quiet cough of amusement. "Yes? You mean you're actually going to tell me?"

"Hn."

She was so excited, she couldn't even bring herself to be annoyed by his one-sound answers. "Really?"

"Repetition will get you nowhere, Sakura."

She glared at the back of his head at his patronizing tone, wishing she had a pair of scissors to cut off all those luxurious black locks in retaliation. _That_ would show him to be flippant with her. With a huff, she wisely fell silent and continued her ministrations on his back, forcing herself to wait for him to elaborate on what exactly had gotten him so torn up.

However, after several long periods of verbal inactivity, it seemed that the expected yield of information wasn't coming.

She really hated to be pushy, and her mother always had lamented over Sakura's insatiable curiosity for landing her into trouble, but… "Itachi? Um, aren't you planning on telling me anytime soon?"

"…No."

Sakura gaped. "But you—"

Effectively cutting off her indignation before it could snowball into one of her famous Sakura-rages, Itachi commented, "I never stated I would tell you right away, Sa-ku-ra. You merely assumed."

Her mouth fell open, eyes narrowing into furious slits. "You—you—Uchiha!"

"Indeed."

* * *

Hana ambled down the hallway of the hotel, having just successfully passed on the busy happenings of the previous day to the Kazekage, promising him a full report once Itachi was well enough to see him. So if the little pink-haired medic was as good as everyone said, she guessed that would be occurring sometime real soon. Yup, she thought as she whistled tunelessly to herself, a little tender loving care from Pinky and their captain would be back on his feet in no time, she reassured herself.

She absently brushed a hand onto Hachiko's head, petting the large dog padding alongside of her. She grinned down at her beloved companion.

"What do you say about finding ourselves a hot meal, huh? I'm famished."

She was answered with what appeared to be a positive bark, but wrinkled her nose when an afterthought hit her. "Or maybe a cold meal? I'm already roasting under this stupid Suna sun. I might just have a heatstroke if we eat a hot—Shisui?"

She came to a stop, quirking an eyebrow at her teammate.

"Yo." A lazy hand was raised in greeting from his position cross legged on the floor.

"Why are you slouching around the hallway? Don't you have anything better to do?"

Shisui shot his friend an annoyed look. "Like what, play in the sand?"

Hana pinched the bridge of her nose—Shisui was in one of his bored moods, meaning he was dangerously close to incessantly complaining until she found _something_ to preoccupy his mind with. "I don't know, what about—what's wrong with your nose?"

The Uchiha jumped up, hands flying protectively to his nose. "What do you mean, 'what's wrong with my nose'?" He abruptly moved closer to her, bringing his face straight up to hers unblinkingly. Hana tried not to yelp in surprise as he clasped her shoulders. "Hana, tell me. My nose—does it look weird?"

"No, you idiot, it's fine! I just thought it looked a bit crooked, that's all," Hana exclaimed, finding herself increasingly flustered.

"Crooked?" Shisui asked in despair. "You're sure?"

Hana rolled her eyes. "Shisui-baka, it was just a trick of the light. Now let me go or _I'll_ give you a crooked nose myself." She was abruptly released, and gave her longtime teammate a strange look. "What's this preoccupation with your nose, anyways?"

Silence. Then:

"…Sakura punched me earlier," Shisui admitted in a grumbling voice.

The Inuzuka couldn't help it—she burst into raucous laughter. Reaching out she gave her abashed friend a slap on the shoulder.

"C'mon baka, let's go see what Itachi's up to. He's bound to be awake by now."

* * *

"All done," Sakura declared with a happy feeling of accomplishment. Not only had she managed to repair most of the remaining damage to Itachi, but she had also managed to refrain from brutally murdering him in a fit of rage over being duped by him. Yet again. Che, sneaky Uchiha bastards.

"Just let me wrap a bandage around the gash on your side to keep it from opening up and you're free to go." She reached an agile hand behind her into her waist pouch, withdrawing her roll of white medical tape. Unraveling it, she informed the Uchiha sitting in front of her, "So no extensive moving around for the next few days, got it? Doctor's orders."

Had Itachi not been a high and mighty Uchiha beyond such things, she would have categorized the small scoff of air she heard as a snort.

"And I suppose those orders outrank those of a captain?" He remarked.

"Well _I _say they do," she grumbled lowly as she continued wrapping the stark white bandages snugly around his side. "Just don't do anything that could reopen any of these things, ok?"

"Hn."

She bit back a grin at his typical monosyllabic self, irrevocably reminded of her dark-haired best friend and feeling a sudden rush of easiness. "Hey, Itachi?" She said, waiting until he signified he was listening to her.

She smiled to herself, busying her fingers with smoothing out the bandages with practiced ease. "I just wanted to say…thanks."

His black locks tumbled down from his shoulder as he turned his head slightly to look at her. She felt, rather than saw, his evident surprise in the way his muscles briefly tensed. It was hard work, but she was successful in fighting off a satisfactory laugh at managing to catch the impeccable Uchiha off guard for once. "For what, Sakura?"

Eyes cast down in a semblance of immersion in her task of tying the knot of his bandages, Sakura easily avoided his dark gaze in a sudden stretch of hesitation. It was difficult forcing the words out, but she was never one to overlook acts of kindness, even if they were done by the bane of her existence. "Just…for worrying about me earlier I guess. About me not having enough strength left to heal you."

"I hardly believe that is something that requires your gratitude."

She snorted in response. "You'd be surprised. Most people seem to think I'm made out of endless amounts of chakra. People usually don't consider the welfare of the medic when they're the ones in need of attention, after all."

That was certainly true—she couldn't count the number of times she'd been tired beyond all reason, nearly totally exhausted of all chakra, and had _still_ been forced to tend to a wounded Naruto or Sasuke when they'd tumbled through her apartment door at all hours of the night. Heck, she never minded doing it—she'd never neglect her teammates and best friends when they needed her—but Itachi's odd concern for her wellbeing above his own had been…a different, but nice, experience.

And it sent entirely inappropriate tingles of warmth spreading through her body like a wildfire in a forest.

In the next second, a small 'eep' of surprise left her mouth as Itachi swiftly rotated his body around to face her, his handsome visage looking strangely displeased. "It seems my little brother and Naruto-kun are more idiotic than I had previously thought," he said flatly.

Her body automatically stiffened at the insult to her two boys, but she didn't have the chance to defend her absentee teammates before Itachi abruptly leaned in closer towards her, black eyes effortlessly capturing her gaze as a single warm hand gently skimmed the sensitive skin of her cheek.

When he spoke again, his voice had become marginally warmer, less irritated than when he had focused on the topic of her two friends. "They should take better care of you, Sakura. It is…unacceptable that they are this careless towards you."

Sakura had to marvel at Itachi's way with words—most notably the way that he was capable of lighting a match under her fiery, explosive anger in under five seconds.

Trying to emerge from her Itachi-induced stupor caused by his sudden proximity, and her notorious temper enflamed by her captain's insinuations about her inability to hold her own, she snapped back heatedly, "_Take care of me_? I can take care of myself!"

Itachi merely raised an eyebrow at her incensed explosion, making Sakura flush as she realized the extent of her childishness. "I never implied you couldn't. I once said I had the utmost faith in your abilities, did I not?"

Sakura would have rolled her eyes if it wouldn't have been so rude. How could she ever forget being in Tsunade-shishou's office with him days ago, feeling the surprise that had jolted through her at his unexpected affirmation of trust in her, and her capability as a kunoichi and medic? To a girl who had never quite managed to cast off the oppressing shadows of two prodigal teammates, hearing those words from someone like Itachi had unexpectedly soothed a wound she hadn't known existed within her.

"I remember," she conceded after a moment. "But—"

She stopped mid-sentence as Itachi's long fingers slid down to her chin, tilting her face upwards slightly as his eyes swept over her reluctant features, his stare almost caressing in its intensity. And honestly, it was just confusing the hell out of poor Sakura, who had difficulty keeping up with Itachi's quick changes in mood. "I fail to understand this continual defensiveness of yours when it comes to your capability as a shinobi, Sakura."

Crap. Sakura twisted her fingers together nervously, really wishing the dark-haired Uchiha would remove his fingers from her cheek and trying desperately to avoid his eyes. "Well," she began tentatively, "When you said that, I thought you were just…"

She paused uncertainly.

"Just…?" Itachi prompted unhurriedly, clearly not kind enough to just let her end her sentence there and run off to lose herself in the deadly sandstorms of Suna, which seemed like such a pleasant idea now since it involved never having to get tangled up in Itachi's probing word games ever again.

A sigh escaped her, before she went on, "I thought you were just being nice to me."

After a moment, Itachi's face contorted into what could only be described as the most amused face an Uchiha could make.

Meaning his eyebrows raised and a corner of his well-shaped mouth tilted upwards in a blatantly laughing manner. "Nice?" He repeated, his low voice sounding almost incredulous as the word emitted from his throat. "Sakura, when have I ever given you the impression that I would ever lie or falsely flatter people undeserving of my praise for the mere sake of being…nice?"

To be honest, he had a point there. Itachi, from what Sakura had observed over the years of knowing him, was most definitely not one for sucking up to _anyone_.

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but was abruptly cut off as Itachi gave an uncharacteristic sigh of weariness, almost sounding exasperated, her eyes widening as he leaned forward just enough to press his forehead lightly against hers—a rare, unguarded gesture that had Sakura's heart thumping madly against the confines of her rib cage. The rush of blood thrumming wildly in her ears created an odd sensation, and she was positive that he must have been able to hear her body's treacherous reaction.

Who was this stranger, and just what exactly had he done with her team leader and Sasuke's older, emotionless older brother? The one she had grown up knowing through Sasuke's stories, and even being a little in awe of? The one who seemed to derive pleasure in correcting her every mistake, in forever contradicting the heated arguments she posed to him in her various disagreements with him?

_He's acting like this, in such a manner, because he's still injured and delirious_. _That's the only explanation_. _Even if I did just spend the better part of an hour healing him, he probably sustained some sort of head injury that I missed. Yes, that's it. _

That's what she was repeatedly telling her exploding brain as she suddenly found herself mere inches away from the man who had taken to infesting her every thought ever since that ridiculous date she had been manipulated into going on, from what seemed like ages ago now.

Itachi, if he sensed Sakura's surprised discomfort, seemed content to stay in that position. His forehead gently brushing against hers, an almost indiscernible heat radiating from his skin—these very real sensations were causing poor Sakura to wonder how in the hell she had gone from tying bandages to being trapped up against the Uchiha in less than five minutes.

But he was close now, far too close. She could see in minute detail the two, perfectly symmetrical lines that were reflected on each of either side of his nose; every dark eyelash that brushed teasingly against his cheek when he spoke. Her mouth had gone dry, and in a passable imitation of Hinata, she stammered out, "I-Itachi—"

"I had thought it to be obvious Sakura," Itachi told the flabbergasted pinkette in a quiet tone, almost in a matter-of-fact way. "But apparently, it is not."

Obvious? She bit her lower lip, consternated over the fact that she was evidently missing something important, something that everyone else could see.

"What are you _talking_ about, Itachi?"

"Sakura," he answered, staring at her fixedly with eyes that drank in every detail of her face. His expression was inscrutable, and Sakura would have given anything to just this once be able to read this man's mind as easily and effortlessly as he did hers. "Has it ever occurred to you that I am not, _was not_, ever trying to ensure your wellbeing as a shinobi, nor as your senpai and team leader?"

Sakura could barely answer, mesmerized by the way his hands were suddenly sliding up her arms in a sensuous grip. _This is not good,_ she thought dimly as warmth lingered from where Itachi was gently holding her. "Then…why?"

Itachi seemed to be considering how best to answer her shaky inquiry, his face contemplative. After a moment he shook his head slightly, a half-smirk growing on his lips as his obsidian gaze stayed locked on her wide, innocent green eyes. "I am trying to protect you as—"

"Yo, Itachi! You're finally awake, my cute little cousin!"

And that was where an exuberant Shisui burst in, followed by an equally cheerful Hana, pleased at the sight of their captain being up and about after the recent scare he had given them.

Unbeknownst to poor Shisui, two disgruntled people, a pink-haired girl and an Uchiha, were violently wishing for Shisui's sudden and inexplicable death at that precise moment.

* * *

Ino balefully stared up at the blazing sun in the sky above, despairingly wondering why the hell it was so hot today.

Especially considering it was already supposed to be fall, the summer months long having faded away.

With a heavy sigh, she continued her long trudge through the streets of Konoha, trying fruitlessly to unstick her shirt from her sweaty body. With the blistering heat that was threatening to make her unpleasantly melt into a small puddle, she found herself wishing she could be anywhere besides the outdoors. A quick sweep of her empty surroundings clearly told her that the other Konoha citizens obviously felt the same way, and were wisely taking shelter in their cool, air-conditioned homes and residences…

Not for the first time, she regretted being bullied into delivering a message for an incurably lazy Godaime Hokage. It was just her luck that she had gone to the Administration Tower early that morning to turn in a mission report (hastily scribbled and long-overdue, of course), and had been stumbled upon by an annoyed Tsunade-sama wandering aimlessly through the halls, shouting loudly for one of her aides to play messenger for her.

One short conversation later ("You! Yamanaka! You don't look particularly busy; here—_a missive was thrust impatiently into her surprised hands—_go and deliver that to Kakashi-sensei. And be quick about it girl, I don't have all day!")…

…And that was why she now found herself clutching a white envelope in her hands, searching for the ever elusive Hatake Kakashi and his little miracle team.

Her intended destination was currently the training grounds, for all of their other common hidey holes (namely Ichiraku) were lacking their presence. If nowhere else, Team Seven could usually be relied on to be found on Konoha's expansive practice grounds, mercilessly beating each other up (well, Naruto and Sasuke would beat each other up, while an irate Sakura would yell their ears off for their childish irresponsibility when she arrived later to take to perform emergency healings, and a silver-haired jounin merely giggled inanely to himself in the background as he flipped the pages of his most beloved book series).

However, when Ino finally did reach the grounds minutes later (long blonde hair uncomfortably plastered to her neck and her temper slowly degrading into a foul state of existence each second she was being forced to linger in the sun), she was not quite prepared for the sight that she was met with.

Naruto and Sasuke were currently on the rippling surface of Training Area Four's lake, precariously balanced on their hands in what were unmistakably…handstands.

Ino's blonde brows raised, watching in semi-interest as Naruto's body wobbled unstably, causing the Uchiha balancing beside him to stretch out a leg and irritably kick his best friend back into position. She snickered—what were those two idiots up to now?

"Hey guys," she called out, striding towards them.

The two shinobi glanced up at her greeting, Naruto, in his typical cheerfully fashion, shooting her a pleasant, if somewhat confused, grin, and Sasuke merely rolling his eyes and resuming concentration on maintaining his handstand.

"Yo, Ino!"

"Hn."

Ino came to a halt at the water's edge, staring out at them curiously. "What are you two doing _now?_" She asked exasperatedly.

Naruto's blue eyes peeked up at her unhappily from his messy bangs, face abruptly screwing up at her words. "Punishment," he replied mournfully. He returned her curious stare. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Looking for Kakashi-sensei." Ino didn't miss the way both boys flinched at the name. "And what d'ya mean, 'punishment'? Do something colossally stupid again?"

"No!" Naruto defended indignantly, which instantly told Ino that the answer was probably closer to 'yes'. "And besides, we don't have any idea where…Kakashi-sensei is."

"He'll probably return here in about another six hours," Sasuke supplied laconically.

Ino glanced confusedly at her once-crush. "How can you be sure?"

"Cause that's how much longer we have to do _this_ for," Naruto grumbled.

"And what exactly is…_this?"_ She questioned, gesturing vaguely at the handstands. "No offense, but you two _really _look ridiculous."

Naruto let out a heaving sigh. "Well, Kaka-sensei _calls_ it endurance training—"

His words were punctuated with a loud, derisive snort from Sasuke.

"—but it's so obviously not."

"Hmm," Ino tapped her painted fingernails thoughtfully against her lips, still not quite understanding. Then something occurred to her: not only was their silver-haired sensei absent, but her best friend seemed to be nowhere in obvious sight either. "Where's Sakura, though? Shouldn't she be doing this little exercise with you as well?" She smirked at the idea of her pink-haired friend doing handstands on the lake—friends they may be, but their rivalry was still alive and kicking, and Ino certainly wouldn't pass up any opportunity to point and laugh smarmily.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged dark glances at her query.

Ino, being the queen of observance, didn't miss the nonverbal conversation and pounced. "What is it?"

There were a few moments of silence.

"…She's on a mission."

This was from Sasuke, who immediately after saying this returned his gaze to the water below, looking as though he had swallowed something particularly sour.

"_And_…?" Ino pressed, sensing there was far more to be told. Her curiosity was piqued—Team Seven was legendary for being virtually inseparable; and an absent Sakura plus unhappy Naruto and Sasuke plus an angry Kakashi-sensei who was forcing the two boys to stay in a stationary handstand position on a lake for hours would most certainly make for an interesting, gossipy story.

Finally, after a few seconds of being subjected to Ino's piercing blue scrutiny, Naruto relented weakly, "And…it's kinda because of that—aaah, crap, I my blood's all rushing into my head!"

"Shut up, dobe. Quit whining."

Ignoring Sasuke's reprimand, Naruto shook his head and continued, "It's kinda because of that that we're stuck here doing this." He swiveled his head as best he could to turn and glare at the Uchiha next to him. "And besides, this is all your damn fault, teme!"

"Hn, how is it _my_ fault, idiot?" Sasuke answered, unaffected by the accusation. "You were the one who decided to spill your guts to Kakashi about Sakura. Wasn't it obvious he was going to react like this?"

Naruto squawked furiously. "I only had to 'cause you chickened out, dammit! Don't blame it on me! And anyways, it's most especially your stupid clan's fault for producing freaky bastards like Itachi who decide to prey on poor, innocent pink-haired girls like Sakura-chan…I _told_ you we shouldn't have let that stupid date happen!"

Ino's attention rapidly volleyed back and forth between the two, her gaze nonplussed. "Eh? Sakura…and Uchiha Itachi? Date?" Her eyes grew round with genuine surprise. "Don't tell me that actually happened!"

Naruto and Sasuke blinked at her from their upside down positions, momentarily reminded of their audience.

Naruto frowned. "Yeah…how did you know about it?"

Ino shrugged. "Tenten was comforting Lee who heard from Kiba-kun who heard from Choiji who heard from Ayame-san at Ichiraku that she thought she had seen Itachi and Sakura heading down the street towards that little tempura restaurant together." She grinned. "And I've been hearing all sorts of other rumors circulating around too; Ayame-san thought she may have seen them going back _holding hands_, and Kaya-san from the hospital _swears_ that she saw them kissing in front of Sakura's apartment on her way home, and—"

"Those are all _lies_!" Naruto shouted, beyond horrified. Sasuke seemed unable to articulate anything, clearly preoccupied with the ghastly mental image of his brother doing anything of _that_ nature with his teammate. "We were there, it was just a stupid date, nothing _else_!"

"Still," Ino mused, ignoring the wannabe-Hokage's outburst. "I never really gave any of those rumors much credibility. I mean, this _is_ Sakura we're talking about…and who knew _the_ Uchiha Itachi went for large foreheads and tomboyish figures?" She eyed her own chest, disheartened that the most eligible bachelor in the entirety of Konoha saw more charm in Sakura's tiny, petite form than Ino's ample bust and curvy figure.

"Hey! Don't insult Sakura-chan like that!"

"And she's on a mission with him now?" Ino asked just to clarify it, unable to suppress her interest. She whistled lowly under her breath. _Lucky girl_, she thought, half proud of her normally prim and proper friend and half jealous that Sakura had managed to snag such an unbelievably hot catch. Uchiha were notoriously hard to seduce, what with their close semblance to blocks of ice, and Sakura had somehow achieved grabbing the attention of the biggest Ice Prince of them all without even trying.

Her question was rewarded with two moody nods from the two chunin.

"In Suna," Naruto said sulkily. "Stuck with that creepy Uchiha bastard who's probably Sharingan-ing poor Sakura-chan into being his love slave."

"Shut up, Naruto," Sasuke snapped.

"What? It's probably true!"

"Don't insult my brother, idiot!"

"Who's insulting? I'm just stating cold, hard facts…eh, Ino? Where're you going? I thought you were gonna wait for Kakashi-sensei"

Ino briefly spun on her heel, waving her hand in dismissal. "Nah, I think I'm just gonna wander around town and see if I run into him," _and see if I can run into anyone else who has some juicy insight into this _interesting_ little relationship Sakura didn't even think to tell her best friend ever about_, "So I'll see you guys later. Good luck with the uh, handstands and all."

A moment later and she was gone, waning energy renewed by the miraculous power of gossip.

* * *

Sakura watched curiously from the other side of the room (having promptly leapt off of the couch and thrown herself away as physically far as possible once Hana and Shisui had burst inside the hotel room) as the two other members of their team conversed almost inaudibly with their captain and friend, Hana nodding with a confident grin to something Itachi said to her, and Shisui lightly touching Itachi's shoulder, concern for his younger cousin unnaturally written on his face. Not for the first time was she struck by their closeness as a team, a camaraderie that was starkly similar to the threads of friendship that bound her own team together.

"Yo! Seems you did a fair job with him, eh, Pinky?"

Sakura focused her gaze on the grinning brunette that had strode up in front of her. Hana's boisterous voice made her uncertain as to whether she was being complimented or mocked.

She settled for merely shrugging modestly. "I did my best, Hana-san. The rest is up to Itachi."

A loud guffaw echoed as the wild-looking woman laughed. "No worries then, Itachi's like a damn cockroach, can't kill him off no matter how much you try. He's good at avoiding death—among other things." She winked at a startled Sakura, whose mouth abruptly dropped open in horror at the implied meaning.

Shisui sniggered in the background, as Itachi gave a barely perceptible sigh and ran a distracted hand through his hair at his teammate's antics. As entertaining as Sakura's current expression was, this was not the time for it. "That is enough, Hana."

"Gotcha, captain," was the cheerful reply as she plopped herself onto the floor, resting affectionately against her nin-dog.

"Sakura," Itachi caught her attention. Slowly, he enumerated, "I believe I promised you an explanation."

"Aa," she made a quiet noise of agreement in her throat, anticipating finally knowing the facts behind all of the headaches she had been forced to endure regarding Itachi's activities.

"Then we will not waste any time. You are familiar with the S-class group of missing-nin that goes by the name of 'Akatsuki', are you not?"

The name alone was enough to cause a chilling shudder to shoot through her body, apprehension flooding her being.

Familiar? How could she ever forget?

A sickening childhood memory of Naruto's frightened description of his near-capture at the hands of two strangers cloaked in black and red during his brief travels with Jiraiya-sama, of Kakashi-sensei's long interment in the hospital and Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei's brutal injuries after an impromptu visit to Konoha by two mysterious men, also wearing black cloaks, arose sharply in her mind. The Akatsuki—demons masquerading in the guise of rogue shinobi, determined, for whatever reason, to go after her best friend and others like him.

It was enough to awaken a sick feeling of dread deep in the pit of her stomach.

"Yes," she affirmed quietly, concealing all manner of unease from her face. "But, why…" She trailed off, sighing as it all became clear in one horrible fell swoop. Distractedly, she reached up to push her pink bangs out of her eyes. "You've been investigating them? They're here?"

Before Itachi could answer, Hana barked a mirthless laugh, showing a fangy grin at her. "Right in one, Pinky."

"Hana."

She grinned at her captain, dramatically sweeping her hand towards him. "Sorry. Your floor, Itachi."

"My contacts have been informing me of their presence in this area for quite some time," he explained evenly to a tense Sakura, both of them ignoring the interruption. "That was ultimately the deciding factor for creating this mission."

"I see. So…that's where you've been disappearing to, right?"

He nodded.

Sakura paused, eyes falling on where she knew the bandage under his shirt lay, before going on, "And that's how it happened? Your injuries?"

Shisui sent a pointed look at his cousin at Sakura's words. "You haven't filled us in yet either, Itachi. I'd like to hear this."

"There is not much to tell. A few days ago, I happened upon two of the Akatsuki in a small town nearly thirty miles east of here."

"And then?"

Itachi's mouth quirked. "I was engaged in a fight with them—and did not manage to escape wholly unscathed, as Sakura can most certainly testify. They were understandably…reluctant…to provide me with their reasons as to their presence, but guessing their objective isn't difficult."

"But…why would they be in…" Sakura became quiet as comprehension dawned on her, her hands balling up into tight fists that shook with rage. "Gaara," she uttered tonelessly. A sharp intake of breath. "And…Naruto?"

Itachi gave an emotionless nod at her stricken words. His eyes surveyed the rapid play of expressions across her face before he spoke again. "However…given their current location, it does not seem that Naruto-kun is their point of interest as of this moment, Sakura."

A hand fell gently onto her shoulder, squeezing it in a comforting manner. "You don't have to worry, Sakura-chan," Shisui's reassuring voice came from behind her. "That's what we're here for, to prevent these guys from getting any further in their intended goals if they act."

She bristled, shaking off his touch. "I was just told that the people who have my best friend at the top of their shit list are only about four days away from Konoha! How can I _not _worry?" She bit out angrily. "And Itachi, please, _please_ tell me Naruto doesn't know about this. Gaara's one of his friends, and if he even thought for a _second_ he was in any danger-!" She broke off, unable to finish the sentence.

"Tsunade-sama has indeed promised that Naruto-kun will not be made aware of the situation," he confirmed, causing Sakura to visibly relax in her stressed posture, but only marginally. "It would be a foolish risk, given Naruto-kun's history of…_rash_ decisions."

Well, she really couldn't argue with that. Not after growing up with him.

Her hands tightened in her lap, mind mulling over what she had been told, despite being sure that she had been given the heavily edited and abridged version of things. But the only thing resonating through her head was that Naruto could be in danger, right now, tomorrow, in a week...

"Sakura."

She didn't look up, too troubled to pay any attention to Itachi.

He solved this problem by simply walking over to the chair in which she lifelessly sat, kneeling down in front of her. "I did not tell you these things to worry you, but to alleviate some of your fears over what you were not being told."

Hana and Shisui watched with curiosity as Sakura gradually lifted her bowed head to meet Itachi's serious, dark eyes. Something passed between them, and she faintly nodded in understanding, though her face was still fairly drained of color and her expression abnormally blank.

Itachi rose, along with his two teammates, who clearly realized Sakura wouldn't be receiving any more information that day.

"Then, I will see you tomorrow, Sakura."

That captured her attention, stirring her a little from her frozen state. "You will?" She frowned in confusion. "For what?"

Itachi smirked knowingly. "For training, of course."

* * *

**Hello? Anyone out there still reading this?**

***Cricket. Cricket***

**Just kidding. **

**I probably never would have gotten this chapter (whew, and was it a rather long one) written if it weren't for the wonderful readers who reviewed and urged me to keep going, or sent me messages that expressed their desire for another chapter. I love you guys, seriously. Every reviewer, every non-reviewer, just everyone who takes a small part of their time to read any of my stories. Even if I can't get around to replying to every review, I DO read them all, and I DO appreciate them all, more than I can say. **

**It's been over a year since I updated, I know—this is inexcusable. The only reason I can cite for my absence is college. Pre-med is no joke, and I find myself greatly missing the free time of my high school days T.T I am not entirely satisfied with this chapter, as predictably, after a year, it was difficult to try and get back into the flow of where I want this story to go, and Itachi and Sakura were uncommonly hard to write as well. Blargh. Itachi especially, I hope he's not OOC. It's just that I figured he probably has enough tenacity and determination to go after and subsequently achieve what he wants—and right now, that seems to be poor Sakura :P **

****SPOILER ALERT: So I've kinda been keeping up with the manga…kinda being the key word. Seeing back-from-the-dead Itachi was a little bit creepy, you kind of get the feeling that Kabuto's…violating him in some way, along with all the other poor souls he resurrected. Kabuto just needs to die, and soon. So does Madara, now that I think about it. And Sasuke too, though with him being a main character that's probably pretty unlikely. And may I just say that Sakura was so freakin' **awesome** in the situation with the Neji Clone of Evil, it's so great when Kishimoto **occasionally** remembers that he has another kick-ass main character that exists outside the repetitive Naruto-and-Sasuke rivalry/friendship. She just needs to go find undead-Itachi and run off with him, I think :P Any thoughts on the manga lately? I love to hear what other people think.

I appreciate any constructive criticism, helpful hints, or just plain ol' happy comments, so please leave a review! :-)


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